Bangladesh officially unveiled its 15-point Indo-Pacific Outlook envisioning a free, open, peaceful, secure, and inclusive Indo-Pacific on 24 April 2023, one day before the commencement of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s tri-nation visit to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom. State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, Md. Shahriar Alam shared different dimensions of Bangladesh’s Indo-Pacific Outlook. In identifying the key determinants of Indo-Pacific region that influenced Bangladesh to announce its own outlook include the region’s collective share in global GDP, preponderance in international trade, enhanced climate action and growing technological dynamism.
Bangladesh’s declaration has come against the backdrop of evolving domestic and international contexts. Globally, Indo-Pacific region has become an arena of fierce strategic competition and economic dominance over the past decade. The so-called great power competition has vitiated the region to the extent of calling it a new theatre of Cold War between the United States and China. Meanwhile, the announcements of Indo-Pacific Strategy, Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, Belt and Road Initiative, Australia-UK-US defence treaty and Indo-Pacific Economic Forum and many such initiatives have securitised the region to the detrimental interests of developing countries in the region such as Bangladesh. The ongoing Ukraine War has significantly driven the region towards more animosity and rivalries.
While geopolitical scenarios in the region are becoming more hostile and explosive, for Bangladesh the region has special significance from domestic considerations. Bangladesh is a key actor in the greater Indo-Pacific region with its strong position in the Bay of Bengal sub regional setting. With the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes with Myanmar and India a decade ago, Bangladesh has emerged as a major maritime nation in the region. The future of many littoral countries, including Bangladesh, depends to a larger extent on a free and open Indo-Pacific. Currently, Bangladesh is chairing the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). Bangladesh has already announced its blue economy plan vastly endorsed by the international community. In this context, the announcement of Bangladesh deserves enormous significance for its present and future role in the region.
The Indo-Pacific Outlook of Bangladesh is a game changing idea, considering the underlying meanings and evolving acrimonious politico-strategic atmosphere in the region. A couple of factors are crucial for assessing the Outlook. First, the Bangladesh perspective demonstrates its indivisible relations with the region. While the Bay of Bengal is the third neighbour of Bangladesh, the India Ocean is considered the fourth frontier, signifying a compelling ground for its deeper engagement in the area. Bangladesh has made it clear to the world that the country is a major stakeholder of the region. Second, the timing of the declaration is critical. There can be no better occasion to announce it as the Prime Minister was set to fly for visiting three dominant actors in international relations – Japan, the USA and the UK. Bangladesh has clarified its position on the Indo-Pacific region so that it would dispel any attempt to misperceive and misinform Bangladesh’s rightful stance on the Indo-Pacific region.
Third, Bangladesh’s declaration traces the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s vision for a peaceful and safe Indian Ocean region in the early 1970s. Bangabandhu perceived and promoted Indian Ocean as a “Zone of Peace”. For instance, during his conversations with the New Zealand Prime Minister in January 1974, both Bangladesh and New Zealand agreed to make Indian Ocean as a “Zone of Peace”. In fact, Bangabandhu's focus on making Indian Ocean as a “Zone of Peace” bears strong relevance for the Indo-Pacific Outlook of Bangladesh. Fourth, while declaring its Outlook Bangladesh refers to the constitutional mandate as its fundamental basis. Bangladesh considers the principles of non-interference in domestic affairs and peaceful settlement of disputes is the key to shape foreign policy and strategic perspective of a nation. Fifth, Bangladesh has comprehensively presented the scope of multilateral cooperation in the region through its IPO. It has emphasized the issues ranging from economic to energy to climate change for collective engagements in the region. Sixth, while introducing the IPO, Bangladesh highlights its flagship idea of "Culture of Peace" in the Indo-Pacific societies. In fact, through outlining Indo-Pacific Outlook, Bangladesh sent a strong 'message of peace' in the Indo-Pacific region.
Seventh, Bangladesh has rightly pinpointed the main thrust of the Indo-Pacific region which is maintaining stability and achieving prosperity for all nations in the region. Bangladesh arrests geopolitical challenges and development compulsions together to avoid confrontation, hostility and mistrust. Eighth, Bangladesh’s IPO relies on collective initiatives for sustainable development, peace and security. It recognizes the importance interdependence and interconnectivity in terms of issues and actions by the state and non-state actors in the Indo-Pacific region. Ninth, Bangladesh has linked its IPO with its long-term national vision of becoming a Smart nation and a developed country by 2041 as Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spelled out. Tenth, Bangladesh’s IPO has particularly focused on the need for upholding utmost trust and understanding among the members of the region. Finally, the twenty-first century is maritime century. And Indo-Pacific region covers 65 % of the world's Ocean and 60 % of global GDP. Thus, Bangladesh has advocated for devising cooperative mechanisms through forging Indo-Pacific solidarity, given the maritime contexts, opportunities and challenges for Bangladesh.
Standard Setting
Several nations and groups have spelled out their outlook or perception about the Indo-Pacific region. For example, the US, Japan, EU and ASEAN have presented their own views about the Indo-Pacific region. However, in many cases, these views are linked with geopolitical and strategic thrusts involving the Indo-Pacific region. In this context, Bangladesh is an exception. By unveiling the IPO Bangladesh has made sure that it has a progressive voice and customized needs, and does not believe in one size fits all narratives or policies. This reflected that the vision illustrated in the IPO has policy ownership, despite being an emerging middle power in the powerful grouping of forty super, major, middle, and minor powers.
Bangladesh has carefully identified relevant focused areas where it needs cooperation and collaboration, instead of just following the narratives of the other powerful actors in the Indo-Pacific groupings. By doing so, Bangladesh can isolate itself from being dragged into the narrowed geopolitical vicissitudes. Also, some of the strategies may “brand one nation as a threat”, Bangladesh has carefully avoided this trap. Bangladesh has avoided militaristic and non-peaceful agenda in the IPO. With regard to the traditional security cooperation, Bangladesh has maintained a cautious position, and concentrated more on the non-traditional security issues that affect the human development spectrum. The tones and objectives clearly called for cooperation, collaboration, assistance and mutual gains between and among different actors on multitudes of issues despite the differences.
In conclusion, the IPO of Bangladesh is a perfect reply to questions or concerns of small or big powers in the region who had been apprehensive of Bangladesh’s position. Bangladesh has released its Outlook as a continuation of its foreign policy dictum: friendship to all, malice towards none. The announcement of IPO by Bangladesh has virtually eliminated the scope of manipulation or misperception of its stance on the region. Bangladesh has definitely created a positive image and enhanced its leadership by outlining the agenda of more than four billion people of the Indo-Pacific region which is based on achieving and maintaining stability and prosperity through partnership and multilateralism.

The writer is a professor of International Relations at the University of Dhaka