India's Operation Sindoor Triggers China-Pakistan-Bangladesh Alliance
This new axis is a key pillar in China's strategic playbook to isolate and contain India
India's Operation Sindoor was no ordinary military action. It was a declaration of India's new doctrine to fight terrorism and its state sponsors, and was announced by no less than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
The doctrine involves three salient pillars: First, India will take decisive measures to eliminate the sources of terrorism, holding both the attackers and those who support them accountable. Second, India will not yield to nuclear intimidation or 'blackmail". The doctrine makes it clear that any effort to use nuclear threats as a cover for terrorism will be countered with swift and targeted action. And third, India will hold terrorists and their backers equally responsible. The doctrine clearly states that anyone who shelters, funds, or supports terrorism will face the same repercussions as the attackers themselves.
Effectively, India proclaimed before the world that any future terror attack will invite a disproportionate response that will crush Pakistan. Needless to say, this has irked many global powers. China, which has a stated policy of encircling India in order to contain it, has made some interesting manoeuvres since Operation Sindoor. Almost immediately, for example, it had invited the foreign ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan to Beijing.
More recently, on June 19, China launched its latest trilateral initiative with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
The meeting took place in Kunming, the capital of China's southern Yunnan province, and was attended by China's vice foreign minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh's acting foreign secretary Ruhul Alam Siddique, and Pakistan's additional foreign secretary Imran Ahmed Siddiqui. Pakistan's foreign secretary Amna Baloch took part in the discussions by video link.
In its statement following the meeting, China claimed: 'The three sides emphasised that China-Bangladesh-Pakistan cooperation adheres to true multilateralism and open regionalism, not directed at any third party." This was an obvious reference to India, which has more reasons than one to feel that China's latest moves are squarely directed at it following the success of Operation Sindoor. After all, that one military operation redefined India's red lines and altered the security outlook of the subcontinent.
Interestingly, China's statement on the meeting lacked critical context. For example, it said that 'Bangladesh and Pakistan are both good neighbours, good friends, and good partners of China, and important partners in high quality belt and road cooperation." The missing context, obviously, is that Bangladesh remained under Pakistani occupation until 1971, before India decided to join Dhaka's war of liberation. Yet, with Muhammad Yunus and an Islamist regime in-charge of Bangladesh now, it would appear that Dhaka is ready to forget all past Pakistani atrocities and get under one 'anti-India" umbrella.
Turning India's Neighbourhood into a Battlefield
This new trilateral 'mechanism" is not a random diplomatic exercise; it is a calculated move on the geopolitical chessboard. Beijing sees a window of opportunity created by several converging factors. India's newfound muscular posture, epitomised by the doctrine that underpinned Operation Sindoor, has shown that New Delhi will no longer be a passive recipient of state-sponsored terror. This forces China's all-weather ally, Pakistan, to seek a more powerful 'alliance' to shield it from Indian retribution.
This new axis is a key pillar in China's strategic playbook to isolate and contain India. Pakistan has long been its proxy, a tool to bog India down in the Indian subcontinent. Bringing Bangladesh into this fold, however, is the more significant and alarming development. It represents a major diplomatic coup, turning a nation born with India's help into a partner of its principal adversaries.
It is no secret that Dhaka's ties with New Delhi are at a historic low. China is exploiting the rift, promising economic largesse through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in exchange for strategic alignment. The Kunming mechanism aims to institutionalise this alignment, creating a formal bloc that can coordinate economic, diplomatic, and potentially military policies against Indian interests.
This new trilateral is less about diplomacy and more about the physical encirclement of India. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) already gives Beijing access to the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. By deeply integrating Bangladesh into its sphere of influence, China gains greater access to the Bay of Bengal, effectively tightening its 'string of pearls' around India. This trilateral axis, therefore, must be seen for what it is: a concerted effort to challenge India's regional primacy, dilute its influence in its own backyard, and create a counterweight to India's growing global stature and its partnerships like the Quad.
The implications of this trilateral go far beyond economic and diplomatic cooperation. The logical and most dangerous end-game of this 'mechanism" is its transformation into a full-fledged security alliance aimed squarely at India. China already supplies most of Pakistan's advanced weaponry, effectively arming it to the teeth. The troubling question for New Delhi is: what if Beijing begins doing the same with Bangladesh? A China-funded and equipped Bangladeshi military, hostile to India, would transform the long-dreaded two-front threat into a nightmarish three-front strategic encirclement.
This strategy of surrounding a rival with hostile proxies is a carbon copy of another playbook—Iran's attempt to build an 'axis of resistance" to choke Israel. The world is now seeing how that policy has ended up putting West Asia on fire. Pushed to the brink, Israel has systematically obliterated Iran's axis of resistance and dealt a crippling blow to Tehran's nuclear programme itself. Does China truly wish for a similar fate in the subcontinent? Does it want to see its own strategic investments and regional ambitions go up in flames along with those of Pakistan and Bangladesh?
Because Beijing must be under no illusion. After Operation Sindoor, India has made its red lines clear. There are no lengths to which India will not go if its core interests and very existence are threatened by an axis of totalitarian countries like China, Pakistan and an increasingly radicalised Bangladesh. By attempting to turn India's neighbourhood into a battlefield, China is not just playing with fire; it is risking a conflagration that could consume the entire region—with consequences that even Beijing cannot control.
About the Author
Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra
Sanbeer Singh Ranhotra is a producer and video journalist at Network18. He is enthusiastic about and writes on both national affairs as well as geopolitics.
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bangladesh China Operation Sindoor pakistan Straight Talk
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First Published:
June 24, 2025, 15:26 IST
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