String Of Pearls Tightens: How Bangladesh’s U-Turn On Mongla Port Hits India’s 'Act East' Policy | Exclusive

Published 27 June 2026 · local

String Of Pearls Tightens: How Bangladesh’s U-Turn On Mongla Port Hits India’s 'Act East' Policy | Exclusive Reported By, Last Updated: June 27, 2026, 19:25

String Of Pearls Tightens: How Bangladesh’s U-Turn On Mongla Port Hits India’s 'Act East' Policy | Exclusive Reported By, Last Updated: June 27, 2026, 19:25 IST The strategic facility will now be constructed and managed by China’s state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCCC) The Tarique Rahman government's actions highlight a rapid and coordinated effort to replace Indian partnerships with Chinese capital and security ties. (File image: AP) India’s eastern security architecture and regional border diplomacy have suffered a massive strategic setback following an abrupt geopolitical shift by Bangladesh’s Tarique Rahman-led government. In a major policy reversal, Dhaka has decided to hand over the prestigious Mongla Port development project to China, effectively revoking an assignment originally allocated to India in 2015. The strategic facility will now be constructed and managed by China’s state-owned Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCCC), a development that directly challenges New Delhi’s long-standing influence in the Bay of Bengal and signals a deep freeze in bilateral ties. The handover carries immense security implications for the Indian defence establishment, primarily due to Mongla Port’s critical geographic location, situated just 80 kilometres from the Indian border.

Top Indian intelligence sources have raised urgent red flags regarding the high risk of Beijing installing advanced maritime surveillance systems and electronic intelligence infrastructure at the site. Given its proximity, a Chinese-controlled deep-sea asset enables the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to actively monitor Indian naval deployments, coastal radar networks, and strategic movements around the Kolkata and Haldia ports, potentially turning the commercial facility into a hostile intelligence-gathering hub. Economic Decoupling and the String of Pearls Dhaka’s maritime realignment is part of a broader, deliberate blueprint by the Rahman administration to systemically reduce Bangladesh’s economic dependence on Indian transit networks. By upgrading Mongla in partnership with Beijing, Bangladesh aims to bypass Indian maritime facilities like the Kolkata Port, shifting its trade trajectories toward Chinese-backed shipping corridors. To further cement this alliance, the Tarique Rahman government has approved the creation of a massive 110-acre industrial economic zone in the Mongla region to be developed exclusively with Chinese corporate partnerships, while simultaneously expanding Beijing’s soft power by initiating plans to introduce Mandarin into the domestic school curriculum.