Unaffected by Dhaka’s relations with Beijing, Moscow

US Deputy Assistant Secretary Afreen Akhter has said Washington DC does not define its relationship with Dhaka taking into account Bangladesh's ties with Russia and China or any other country.

She said this in an interview with the BSS in Dhaka this week.

Afreen said the US has a multi-dimensional relationship with Bangladesh, and it found a lot of synergies as Dhaka recently released its Indo-Pacific Outlook (IPO) that had many elements in common with the US Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS).

"Broadly, we see a lot of synergies between our two documents, our strategy, and your outlook. We both are focused on building economic prosperity in the region and through infrastructure, through our substantial development projects," said the senior state department official.

Her comments came months after US Ambassador in Dhaka Peter Haas said Washington DC does not force countries to choose sides over relationships with other countries and particularly with China.

Afreen thanked Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her recent joint statement with her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida "condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a violation of international law and the UN charter".

The US diplomat said Bangladesh's IPO laid emphasis on the "maritime security" issue that was a key focus of the US and the other QUAD partners and that's why the US would look for opportunities to continue to collaborate on that.

The deputy assistant secretary also said Washington DC was concerned about the application of the Digital Security Act and particularly "where the law has been applied".

RAB SANCTIONS

Afreen said Washington DC was pleased to see "a substantial decrease in extrajudicial killings" after its sanction on the Rapid Action Battalion.

"We welcome that decrease... [but] we need to see a long time sustained trend, positive changes of behaviour [in Rab]," she said, adding that Washington DC focused on ensuring accountability, reform and transparency of the force.

She said the US needs to see long term systemic change for removal of sanctions to be considered.

Talking about the Rohingya, the state department official said her country was working to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis through their repatriation to Myanmar under right conditions, a task she termed "difficult and challenging".

"We believe very firmly that the conditions in Myanmar right now do not warrant a safe, voluntary, dignified return and so we would oppose any effort to forcibly repatriate individuals to Myanmar," she added.