The Chittagong Port: Bangladesh’s trump card in its diplomacy of Balance
In a meeting that took place at the end of April in Dhaka, between the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, and India’s Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, the Bangladeshi premier offered the use of Chittagong Port to India. Jaishankar was in Dhaka on behalf of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to extend an invitation to Prime Minister Hasina for visiting New Delhi. Discussing the need for greater connectivity between the two neighbouring countries for their mutual benefit, Prime Minister Hasina pointed out that increased linkages would help India’s landlocked Northeastern states of Assam and Tripura to have an access to this seaport. This proposition is reminiscent of a similar offer Bangladesh made to China in 2019 for its southwestern states to use the ports of Chittagong and Mongla. Indeed, the port of Chittagong often features in Bangladesh’s strategic partnerships with its neighbourhood, particularly the two Asian giants: India and China. As Bangladesh meanders its way through the geopolitics of the Bay of Bengal region, which is fast regaining its dynamism, the importance of this port is worth cultivating. Built on the Karnafuli river, 16 kilometres upstream of the sea, the port of Chittagong is Bangladesh’s principal seaport. It is the busiest port along the coastline of the Bay of Bengal and ranks 67th in the 2021 Llyod’s list of the top 100 busiest container ports in the world. Although, it slipped nine notches in 2020 from its 58th position, due to the impact of the pandemic on Bangladesh’s trade of readymade garments and the subsequent loss of container throughput, the utility of this port is undeniable. Its significance is that it provides deep water anchorage with a few kilometres inland from the sea. As such it handles more than 92 percent of the country’s EXIM maritime trade, primarily containerised and manufactured products. It transports bulk cargo as well but passenger traffic is limited. The Chittagong Port is also used for transhipment by India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a Bay container terminal is being constructed on the port premises, scheduled to be completed by 2024. This infrastructural utility, aside from the strategic location of this port, endows it with significant growth potential for both India and China.
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