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India is closely watching Bangladesh’s latest defence move with China, amid growing concern over Beijing’s expanding footprint in the Bay of Bengal region.
In a far-reaching development, the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) has signed a government-to-government defence agreement with China’s state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation International (CETC). The deal provides for the setting up of a Chinese-backed unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturing and assembly facility in Bangladesh, along with technology transfer (ToT).
The agreement was signed last week at Air Force Headquarters in Dhaka, according to Bangladesh’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR).
For New Delhi, the deal is strategically sensitive. It comes at a time when India is already facing sustained Chinese pressure along the Line of Actual Control and growing Chinese naval activity in the Indian Ocean Region.
Beijing moves closer to India’s eastern flank
Defence analysts say the agreement further embeds China into India’s immediate maritime and strategic neighbourhood. With Bangladesh located at the head of the Bay of Bengal, the presence of a Chinese defence production facility adds to India’s concerns about Beijing testing New Delhi’s strategic comfort zone.
The drone facility will allow Bangladesh to manufacture and assemble Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) and Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) drones. The partnership also aims to give the BAF the capability to design and produce indigenous UAVs over time.
While Dhaka has stated that the drones will be used for military, humanitarian assistance, and disaster management, Indian analysts remain cautious.
Concerns over surveillance and intelligence access
Security experts warn that Chinese involvement in Bangladesh’s UAV ecosystem could give Beijing deeper access to the Bangladeshi military’s operational systems, data and training frameworks.
There are apprehensions that Chinese-origin drones operating close to India’s eastern borders could be used for surveillance and reconnaissance. In a crisis scenario, such platforms could assist intelligence collection along sensitive border areas.
Some analysts also point to the risk that dual-use technologies could be leveraged to monitor maritime movements in the Bay of Bengal, an area critical to India’s trade routes and naval deployments.
Political signalling ahead of elections
The deal has also acquired political overtones. Several Indian observers believe the Yunus-led interim government in Dhaka is sending a strong signal to New Delhi ahead of Bangladesh’s election cycle.
The signing ceremony was attended by Bangladesh Air Chief Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, Chinese Ambassador to Bangladesh Yao Wen, senior Bangladeshi military officials and representatives from CETC.
For India, the concern is not just about drones. It is about the steady expansion of Chinese military-linked infrastructure across South Asia and the Indian Ocean littoral.
With China already entrenched in Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the Bangladesh deal reinforces fears of a tightening strategic arc around India’s eastern and maritime frontiers.
New Delhi is expected to factor this development into its broader Bay of Bengal and neighbourhood security strategy in the months ahead.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
