Port wars: India’s Bangladesh deal seen as bid to curb China’s maritime ambition
- Chinese companies have signed deals to build or invest in a number of ports in the Indian Ocean region in recent years
The deal is seen as part of New Delhi’s efforts to catch up with Beijing in a global maritime race to gain quasi-control of foreign ports.
Mongla port, Bangladesh’s second largest seaport after Chittagong, is India’s third successful bid to run overseas ports in recent years, after Chabbar in Iran and Sittwe in Myanmar. The details of the Mongla port deal are yet to be made public.
According to media reports, quoting a senior Indian official from the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, the terminal will be operated by Indian Port Global Limited (IPGL).
Former Indian naval officer Commodore C Uday Bhaskar told This Week in Asia: “Mongla is a potentially major opportunity for India to establish its credibility as an equitable port partner for Indian Ocean littorals seeking such expertise.”
Bhaskar, a director of the Delhi-based think tank Society for Policy Studies, pointed out that India did not figure in the world’s top 10 ports based on container traffic, whereas China had six on the list.
