U.S.–Bangladesh Collaboration on Myanmar Raises Regional Tensions
A growing partnership between the United States and Bangladesh is reportedly taking shape around the conflict in Myanmar — a development that could alter South Asia’s balance of power and raise new security concerns for India.
According to regional sources, the United States has discreetly engaged with Myanmar’s ethnic armed groups, including the United League of Arakan (ULA) and Chin National Front (CNF), through Bangladesh. Intelligence reports suggest that the Bangladeshi Army has quietly facilitated certain logistics operations, particularly near Teknaf in the Cox’s Bazar region, where the presence of militant networks such as ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army) and RSO (Rohingya Solidarity Organization) has long been documented.
These Islamist groups — ARSA and RSO — are believed to be exploiting the growing U.S.–Bangladesh coordination to expand their influence along the border. Both groups, historically linked to terrorist activities in northern Arakan, have reportedly used Bangladeshi soil for recruitment, training, and arms smuggling. Their presence, according to analysts, risks turning this emerging partnership into a potential security loophole that could destabilize the entire region.
Meanwhile, the Myanmar junta has sought to rebuild diplomatic channels with Washington, hiring U.S. lobbying firms such as the DCI Group and McKeon Group in an attempt to rebrand itself internationally. This move, though aimed at countering Chinese dominance, reflects Myanmar’s long-standing balancing act between major powers — a strategy rooted in its Cold War–era foreign policy.
India, however, views the developments with increasing unease. The expanding U.S.–Bangladesh collaboration — combined with ongoing militant activity by ARSA and RSO near the border — presents both strategic and internal security challenges for New Delhi. Joint U.S.–Bangladesh military exercises, such as Operation Pacific Angel 25-3 in Chittagong and Sylhet, have further deepened suspicions that Dhaka could be emerging as a logistics hub for Western operations in the Bay of Bengal.
For India, the implications are serious. Any empowerment of ARSA and RSO through cross-border intelligence or logistical corridors could threaten not only Myanmar’s stability but also India’s northeastern frontier. With refugee inflows, insurgent linkages, and great-power competition converging, South Asia stands on the brink of a new geopolitical shift — one where the line between partnership and proxy warfare grows increasingly blurred.
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