Bangladesh-China defence ties pose no threat

China's military tie with Bangladesh is not directed against any third country, Beijing’s Dhaka envoy has said. Li Jun said the cooperation ‘strictly adheres to relevant international laws and norms on international relations’. He said this in an email reply to journalists seeking his views on various aspects of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s current China visit. One of the queries was: ‘Is there any strategic specialty in Chinese defence cooperation?’ The ambassador said strong defence cooperation was ‘an important part’ of China-Bangladesh relations and ‘an integral part’ of the ‘comprehensive partnership of cooperation’. ‘Such a strategic partnership is in the fundamental interest of the two countries and people,’ he said. China was the biggest supplier of arms to Bangladesh in the last 5 years, according to the highly respected Sweden-based think-tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The SIPRI report shows Bangladesh bought anti-ship missiles, tanks, fighter aircraft and other arms from China between 2008 and 2012. Ambassador Li said China had been ‘a traditional and reliable’ supplier of military hardware to Bangladesh. Besides, he said, Bangladesh armed forces send ‘an increasing number’ of officers for training in China. Li said China will continue to help Bangladesh ‘modernise and strengthen its armed forces’, according to bdnews24.com.