By news@flagshipupdate.online 
While Yunus made these remarks during his four-day visit to China last week (March 26 to 29), video clips of his speech were shared by the interim government on its social media handles.
Pitching for “extension of the Chinese economy”, Bangladesh interim government’s chief advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus has said that with Northeast India “landlocked”, Dhaka is the “only guardian of the ocean for all this region”.
While Yunus made these remarks during his four-day visit to China last week (March 26 to 29), video clips of his speech were shared by the interim government on its social media handles.
India has not reacted to his comments so far.
“Seven states of India, eastern part of India, called seven sisters… they are landlocked country, landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean,” Yunus said.
“We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So this opens up a huge possibility. So this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world,” he said.
For India, access to and from the Northeast states — through the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ corridor in north Bengal — has been a challenge, economically and strategically. Over the last decade-and-a-half, this formed an important element of Delhi’s engagement with Dhaka as it worked with the previous government led by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on ways to transit through Bangladesh.
With Yunus’s comments, Dhaka is seen as projecting its leverage on access to Northeast India, which is a concern for Delhi. His bid to project Beijing as the new partner adds a layer of complexity to the already-fraught India-Bangladesh ties.
As he wrapped up his China visit on Saturday, Yunus said it was “important” for his country to see Beijing as a good friend and he expected ties between the two countries to enter a new phase. “Our relationship has been very strong over the years. Our business is very strong and we benefit from our collaboration with China,” he said.
He met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and sought more investments to revive Bangladesh’s flagging economy, hit by political and economic crisis. “It’s very important that we see China as our good friend,” Yunus said, projecting Beijing as a balancing factor against New Delhi.
In an interview to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Yunus said he expects bilateral relations to enter a new stage.
Yunus is scheduled to go to Thailand for the BIMSTEC summit later this week. He has sought a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but India is yet to confirm it. While Modi will be in Thailand on April 3-4, India’s Northeast has been part of Delhi’s strategic calculus as it engages with the grouping as well.