China Commends Bangladesh Prime Minister Hasina's Decision to Reject foreign air base

China praised the statement from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina about not allowing any foreign military base on the territory of Bangladesh, calling it a major show of the country's strong sense of sovereignty and commitment to independence.

Sheikh Hasina, 76, has been in power since 2009, and managed to secure her fifth term in January's elections, which were tainted by the absence of the country's biggest opposition party, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, led by former Prime Minister Khalida Zia.

The Prime Minister, without naming the country, said that she was offered an easy win in the elections in return for a permission to allow that country to have an airbase in Bangladesh. "If I allowed a certain country to build an airbase in Bangladesh, then I would have had no problem," she said, as quoted by The Daily Star Bangladesh.

To Hasina's statement, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, underscored the importance of the remarks, saying they demonstrated the determination of the Bangladeshi people to be independent and resist pressure from outside. While Hasina did not openly say the name of the country offering the deal, she did indicate that it came from a "White man."

Mao condemned countries who pursue self-interest, manipulate elections in other countries, interfere in other nations' internal affairs and destroy regional stability, calling such actions hegemonic and bullying. China assured its firm support for Bangladesh's sovereignty and independence and said it would help protect its territorial integrity.

The investments in Bangladesh, running over USD 25 billion, made by China have strengthened the ties between the two nations bilaterally, particularly in defense cooperation. This includes the supply of military hardware, such as battle tanks, naval frigates, missile boats, and fighter jets, to the chagrin of its neighbor India. Significantly, China supplied two submarines to the Bangladesh navy and helped build a submarine base worth USD 1.21 billion at Cox's Bazar, hence cementing their strategic ties.