In a high-stakes diplomatic effort with serious geopolitical reverberations, three senior Dhaka-based US diplomats led by American Chargé d’Affaires Tracey Ann Jacobson met Bangladesh Army chief General Waker-uz-Zaman on Monday to push for the establishment of a “humanitarian corridor” along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.
The meeting, reportedly, intended as a last-ditch attempt to shift the military’s stance, was closely followed by India, which has growing strategic and economic interests in the region— particularly in Myanmar’s Rakhine State.
This diplomatic engagement came on the heels of a high-level meeting held on the afternoon of May 18 at Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus's Tejgaon office. Present at the meeting were Yunus himself, National Security Adviser and High Representative on the Rohingya Crisis, Khalilur Rahman, and Lieutenant General Kamrul Hassan, Principal Staff Officer (PSO) of the Armed Forces Division (AFD).
Crucially, General Zaman is scheduled to address all “available officers” stationed in Dhaka at the Army’s Senaprangan facility at 9:30 am on Tuesday. Army authorities have directed that all attending personnel report in full ‘combat uniform’. Following the address, General Zaman is expected to hold a one-on-one meeting with Chief Adviser Yunus.
While the US is framing the corridor as a humanitarian necessity for delivering aid to Myanmar’s conflict-ridden Rakhine state, some senior figures within the Bangladesh Army interpret it as part of a broader Western geostrategic maneuver. This has triggered alarm bells in New Delhi, Beijing and Moscow. All three countries maintain substantial economic investments in the Rakhine region—India in particular has a long-standing stake through its Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, which seeks to connect its eastern seaboard to the Northeast via Myanmar.
Indian strategic observers see the US push as potentially dragging Bangladesh into a wider geopolitical contest in Southeast Asia, one that may destabilise the region and complicate India's efforts to deepen its connectivity projects in Myanmar. The fear is that if Bangladesh becomes an active conduit for supporting anti-junta forces like the Arakan Army, it could provoke Myanmar’s military regime, ignite cross-border instability and invite retaliatory moves that affect India’s own infrastructure ambitions.
General Zaman’s apparent refusal to yield to the US diplomats—despite pressure from within the civilian administration led by Muhammad Yunus—sends a signal of caution. Sources say that during the meeting with Jacobson, Political-Economic Counselor Eric Geelan and Defense Attaché Lt Col Michael DeMichiei, the Army chief “did not budge from his original position.” The chiefs of the Air Force and Navy are reportedly standing firmly with him.
From India’s perspective, this united military front within Bangladesh offers a degree of stability. Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division (AFD) has proposed declaring the Bangladesh-Myanmar border a Military Operations Zone (MOZ)—a move that would hand full operational control of the border to the armed forces, reduce the burden on the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Previously, General Zaman expressed his opinion against the MOZ in a recent meeting with Yunus.
This development comes in the backdrop of rising tensions between the Bangladesh military and segments of the civilian leadership, particularly after General Zaman’s US visit was abruptly cancelled on May 11. That same day, the Army chief reportedly sought the removal of PSO Kamrul Hassan after the latter met with Jacobson at the US Embassy in Dhaka—a meeting perceived as circumventing the chain of command.
Sources in the Bangladesh Army believe that the proposal for a US-backed humanitarian corridor may mask deeper intentions— such as clandestine support for Myanmar’s rebel groups, including the Arakan Army and other anti-junta forces. Should this covert strategy take shape, India fears it may be forced into a balancing act— caught between its strategic autonomy, its investments in Myanmar and the broader Indo-Pacific rivalry involving the US and China.
“As Bangladesh navigates this complex web of external pressure and internal dissent, India is likely to tread cautiously. With the Northeast's stability and regional trade corridors at stake, New Delhi is expected to quietly ramp up intelligence coordination with Dhaka, while also keeping a close eye on the influence of other major players — especially the US and China — in the ongoing crisis,” said an officer of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
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