The United States’ Indo-Pacific policy, which advocates for a free and open region, is increasingly being interpreted as a strategy to contain China. This policy has led to the hi-tech weaponization of several countries in the South China Sea, including South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines, which are seen as potential buffers against China’s rise. In the Indian Ocean region, India is being positioned as the main counterweight to China. As a result, the US started delivering hi-tech weapon systems to India and giving Indian regional aggression legitimacy. On the other hand, the US, as if nothing is serious about the hi-tech deliveries, keeps pushing for strengthening democratic institutions, promoting a free press, and fostering a vibrant civil society in Bangladesh, often overlooking the fundamental security, sovereignty and economic sustainability issues that arise from their hi-tech weaponization of neighbours.
However, this strategy, driven by the US’s neo-imperial policies, focuses more on confrontation than on fostering cooperation. Therefore, a sentiment is growing fast in the region that the US, despite being nearly 8000km away from the centre of the Indian Ocean region, is seen as creating a climate of continuous chaos and destabilization, ripe for exploitation by covert US businesses for a long period of time. It is widely recognized that, similar to Indian policies, U.S. policies are often shaped by American crony capitalism.
Debunking the Myth of India as the World’s Largest Democracy
India, often touted as the world’s largest democracy, is under scrutiny. Many believe it is a strategic lie often promoted by main stream media. The country’s crony capitalist state system prevents its citizens from making well-informed decisions. A recent research paper co-authored by economists Kumar Bharti, Lucas Chancel, Thomas Piketty, and Anmol Somanchi reveals that India’s wealth is largely concentrated among the richest 1% of the population, referred to as India’s modern bourgeoisie. They claim that wealth distribution in the country is now more unequal than during British colonial rule, debunking the myth of India as the world’s largest democracy. Without social justice in wealth distribution, democracy is nothing but a façade made of faeces.
The US-India Alliance: Igniting Regional Tensions
The US’s keen interest in partnering with India raises questions about its activities in the region. Many believe that the US, in its bid to contain China, could set the entire region ablaze, as seen in neighbouring Myanmar.
The US’s desperation to court India as the leader of the Indian Ocean region energizes India’s elitist, crony capitalist infested ruling class. This encouragement fuels hatred and resurrects the old American idea of the axis of evil, translating into a belief that only Indian Hindus are godly, and the rest are evil. All these tyrannies are happening under the watchful eyes of the US, which even helps the crony capitalists’ dupe common people with religious mysticism. Looking at Maldives, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and even in Bangladesh, the US must know that the India is gradually losing friends in the region for its crony capitalism backed neocolonial policies, fuelled by US’s strategic blindness towards India for containing China.
A Call for Genuine Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific Region
If the US is sincere about making the Indo-Pacific region truly free and open, it should not pit one country against another. Instead, it should increase cooperation with regional formations like BIMSTEC and support regional mutual respect. However, the US seems more interested in weaponizing India, which is currently run by cronies masquerading as mystics.
Therefore, countries like Bangladesh must reevaluate their relationships with Western countries, especially the US. Bangladesh has no intention of containing or assisting in the containment of any country in the region. Bangladesh must frankly tell the US that its unwise policies of hi-tech weaponization of one country against another will be detrimental to the security, sovereignty, and sustainability of small, coastal, and vulnerable countries like Bangladesh. The country must urge the US to ensure mutual respect within the region by prioritizing regional forums over a particular country. This is the only way to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
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Rajeev Ahmed
The Author of Bengal Nexus, and the Editor of geopolits.com