CHINA WARNS BANGLADESH AGAINST JOINING QUAD ALLIANCE

China has warned Bangladesh against joining the US-led Quad alliance, saying that it would result in “substantial damage” to bilateral relations.

Bangladesh’s foreign minister AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday called the remarks by China’s ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming as “very unfortunate” and “aggressive”.

“We are an independent and sovereign state. We decide our foreign policy,” he told reporters in Dhaka, a day after Li made the remarks. Bangladesh had been following a “non-aligned” and “balanced” foreign policy and the country would decide on its own what to do in line with that principle, he said.

On Monday, Li had told a virtual event organised by the Diplomatic Correspondents Association.