Dhaka, Beijing heading towards new joint platform for diplomacy and defense: Yao Wen

In a bid to take China-Bangladesh relations to the highest level, Chinese Ambassador to Dhaka Yao Wen said that discussions are underway to form a new 'platform' to coordinate diplomacy and defense.

At a press conference organized at the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka, he said, "Now we are the 'China-Bangladesh Community for a Shared Future' on Thursday.

This is a new definition of cooperation. That means cooperation at the highest level. So we need some arrangements to support this highest level of cooperation."

The ambassador said that to build that arrangement, the two countries' joint statement mentioned the formation of two new platforms from the 'political level'. One of them is a strategic dialogue between the two foreign ministers; the other is to explore a platform for 'two plus two' discussions combining diplomacy and defense.

Referring to Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman's arrival as the president of the next session of the United Nations, Yao Wen said, "That means that the two foreign ministers will discuss more about the strategic aspects of regional and international issues in addition to bilateral relations."

Explaining the purpose of the second platform, the Chinese ambassador said, "Two plus two" means that China will not only hold political discussions and dialogues, but we also have extensive defense cooperation. So this platform will further coordinate how both countries view the diplomatic and defense sectors. Through this, our strategic communication, mutual trust and cooperation in these areas will increase."

He said that discussions will continue in the coming days on the level and how the "two plus two" will be.

Yao Wen said that China has a "two plus two" arrangement with Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia and Thailand in Southeast Asia. Beijing holds such discussions with some of these countries at the level of foreign ministers and defense ministers.

Noting that such a platform is not the first for Bangladesh, the ambassador said that a few weeks ago, an announcement was made with Turkey at the ministerial level to form a 'two plus two'. So China is not the first. And this announcement came at the suggestion of both Beijing and Dhaka.

During Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit to Beijing, it was announced to upgrade the bilateral relations of the two countries to the 'China-Bangladesh Community with Shared Future' level. This is the highest level of China in terms of relations with other countries. In response to a question, Yao Wen said that China has this highest level of relations with more than 20 countries. Bangladesh has been added to this list after Pakistan in South Asia.

Regarding the purchase of J-10C fighter aircraft
Various media outlets have published news about Bangladesh's purchase of J-10C fighter aircraft from Beijing around Prime Minister Tarique Rahman's visit. Yao Wen refused to comment on the question.

He said, 'You must have seen that in the joint statement, both countries have agreed to deepen defense cooperation. Which includes discussions, visits and training. There has also been an agreement to maintain mutual understanding and communication in the field of UN peacekeeping missions.’

‘So as I said, our cooperation is very comprehensive. Defense cooperation is part of that. I am not in a position to give specific information about any specific purchase. So, please understand, I am not in a position to comment.’

The ambassador expressed hope that cooperation in all fields, including defense, will increase further in the coming days as relations continue to reach new heights.

It is worth noting that Tarique Rahman went to Malaysia on June 21 on his first foreign visit after the formation of the BNP government after winning the 13th parliamentary election with a landslide victory. The next day, he had a private and bilateral meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. On the same day, he reached the northeastern city of Talian in China. After participating in the World Economic Forum conference there, the Prime Minister’s three-day state visit began with his arrival in Beijing on Wednesday afternoon.

During this visit, 17 memorandums of understanding were signed between Dhaka and Beijing. In addition to the bilateral meeting led by Tarique Rahman and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a private meeting was also held between the two leaders. At the end of the visit, Bangladesh and China expressed their determination to take bilateral relations to new heights in a joint declaration issued by the two countries.