New Delhi: At 5:30 AM Bangladesh local time on Wednesday, a C-130J transport plane of the Bangladesh Air Force (BAF) touched down on the tarmac at Dhaka airport, ferrying Sinopharm vaccines all the way from China—seen also as an Eid gift to the south Asian country.
This batch of China-made vaccines is part of a five-lakh doses gift to Bangladesh after the recent World Health Organization’s (WHO) clearance to Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use.
China’s stepping in is significant as the Covishield (AstraZeneca) vaccines originally meant to be procured from India has run into uncertainty in the backdrop of an explosion of Covid cases in India and acute vaccine shortage.
From the strategic point of view, both India and China have been trying to expand their respective influence in Dhaka.
Turnaround by Bangladesh?
With India unable to supply contracted vaccines to Bangladesh, China has vigorously stepped in.
In this entire episode, the turnaround by Bangladesh also seems apparent underlining the sway vaccines hold over strategy and external relations in these unprecedented times of medical emergency.
After receiving the planeload of Chinese vaccines on Wednesday, Bangladesh foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had said at the vaccine handover ceremony: “We’re thankful to China. They've been very cooperative. We look forward to many more vaccine doses from China.”
Adding that China has become a great friend of Bangladesh over the past years, Momen said: “We look forward to having better days.”
This was even as Chinese ambassador to Bangladesh Li Jiming was standing next to Momen.
The Bangladesh foreign minister’s tone and tenor was in sharp contrast from two days ago.
Scathingly critical of ambassador Li’s statement that warned Bangladesh against joining the ‘Quad’ grouping, foreign minister Momen had then said Bangladesh was free to decide its own course of relations with any other country.
