China eyes Chicken’s Neck?

Siliguri Corridor developments rattle India’s national security, rumbles in diplomatic circles

A possible new airstrip in northwest Bangladesh, uncomfortably near India’s thin Siliguri Corridor, called the “Chicken’s Neck,” has caused grave strategic unease in New Delhi. Although not officially announced by either Beijing or Dhaka, various sources have indicated that negotiations for the airfield might have occurred during a recent diplomatic trip by Bangladeshi representative Muhammad Yunus to China. The intended location is along Bangladesh’s border with West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts, just kilometres from an area holding the geographic key to Indian unity.

For India, this is more than another infrastructure tale. It’s a sneaking shadow over one of its most exposed weak points, eliciting fears of a slow, quiet strategic encirclement in slow motion.

A corridor under scrutiny

The Siliguri Corridor is a slim 22-kilometre-wide land link between mainland India and its northeast states. The fragile link, wedged between Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and occupied Tibet by China, is South Asia’s most strategically vulnerable zone. Any obstruction here can sever more than 45 million Indian citizens in the eight North East States from the rest of the nation.

Now, news of a reported airbase in the vicinity of this corridor, allegedly with Chinese patronage has raised hackles within Indian defence and intelligence communities. The site is not random; it’s deliberate attempt by China in co-ordination with Bangladesh. The strategic importance of this development, that’s where the alarm starts.

Strategic flashpoint in the making

Strategic location

The location of the planned airstrip in northwestern Bangladesh brings it perilously near the Siliguri Corridor. Posing ostensibly as a civilian project, its proximity to Indian soil makes it a strategic tinderbox. Defence analysts dread the potential for it to be built with dual-use capacity, capable not only of taking in commercial flights, but also military or reconnaissance operations.

Possible concerns

If in fact, backed or guided by Beijing, the airbase would give China a listening post to track Indian Army deployments, radar operations with military supply lines in the east. It would be a symbolic intrusion by China extending its shadow into India, not from the lofty Himalayas this time but from the bottomlands of South Asia.

India’s response

While the Indian government has not made a formal statement so far, regional security monitors, YouTube defence experts backed by local media indicate that the issue is being watched closely. In the background of the diplomatic silence, sources indicate that top security organizations are examining not only the potential of the airfield but the overall trend of Chinese activity in Bangladesh’s defence and infrastructure sectors.

No official announcement

To date, neither Beijing nor Dhaka has announced publicly plans for the airstrip. But the silence is not reassuring particularly given the consistent pattern of strategic vagueness that tends to surround Chinese overseas infrastructure projects. They start as commercial and morph, slowly, quietly into leverage points in Beijing’s broader geopolitics.

India-China competition is not new. The 1962 war, when China invaded Indian land in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh, still throws a long shadow. Even after several rounds of talks, China’s maps continue to show Arunachal Pradesh as ‘South Tibet,’ and trespasses across the Line of Actual Control have grown more common and bold. Recently, China once again started naming 30 places around Arunachal Pradesh with Chinese names.

From the Doklam standoff of 2017 to the lethal Galwan Valley battles of 2020, the border has been a theatre of tensions. China’s strategy has been incremental and step-by-step roads here, villages there, airfields in Tibet, and now, perhaps, infrastructure close to the Siliguri Corridor. These are not discrete motions; they are linked up to form an extended game strategy to keep India diplomatically cornered and geographically exposed.

Beijing’s ‘String of Pearls’ tightens

Experts have long indicated China’s “String of Pearls” a policy of encirclement using ports, bases and infrastructure initiatives throughout South and Southeast Asia. From Pakistan’s Gwadar to Sri Lanka’s Hambantota, to Myanmar’s Kyaukpyu and now perhaps a new outpost in Bangladesh—India is being increasingly encircled by Chinese infrastructure.

Each of these projects is sold as economic cooperation. But in reality, numerous of these assets have dual-use potential, ports where naval ships can be harboured, airstrips for accommodating military aircraft, fiber networks for intercepting communications.

Dhaka’s delicate dance

The decision for Bangladesh is not simple. Dhaka has historically been close to India, particularly since the 1971 Liberation War. But China provides high-value investment offers, quick project implementation, with very little political conditionality. It is now one of Bangladesh’s biggest trade partners and arms suppliers.

The recent political upheaval in Bangladesh following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina has taken a distinctly anti-India and anti-Hindu turn. Public sentiment within Bangladesh has grown increasingly hostile towards India, largely due to its perceived support for the previous Hasina-led regime. This shift in public opinion has coincided with a disturbing rise in targeted attacks against the Hindu minority, further exacerbating tensions and fuelling communal unrest.

This places India in a sensitive diplomatic situation. It cannot seem overbearing or intrusive, but nor can it allow a strategic blind spot to develop so close to its vulnerable underbelly.

India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, has adopted a measured, further diplomatically restrained stance on the unfolding situation, opting to downplay public concerns. In his recent engagement with his Bangladeshi counterpart, the focus remained on connectivity, trade, and people-to-people ties, hallmarks of soft diplomacy. While this approach reflects the principles of quiet diplomacy and strategic patience, critics warn that such diplomatic vagueness may be perceived by adversaries as indecision or weakness. In volatile geopolitical environments, a firmer and more assertive posture may be necessary to send a clear message and safeguard national interests.

India’s relationship with its immediate neighbours remains a growing concern, as China continues to assert its influence and strategically sway these countries to its side. Through economic leverage, diplomatic outreach, and military cooperation, Beijing is increasingly shaping regional dynamics to its advantage. The recent conflict further underscored this shift, with China openly backing Pakistan, signalling a deeper alignment between the two nations and posing a strategic challenge to India’s regional interests.

“It’s a thin line between strategic patience and strategic paralysis,” remarks a retired Indian ambassador to Bangladesh. “India needs to engage Bangladesh vigorously, but also clearly signal its red lines.”

Given the limited international support during the recent conflict with Pakistan, it is evident that India’s foreign policy requires urgent recalibration, particularly in the context of the subcontinent. The current geopolitical landscape demands a more nuanced and strategic approach to diplomacy, alliance-building, and regional engagement to safeguard national interests and reinforce India’s standing on the global stage.

The road ahead: Assertive engagement

India needs to counter through a multi-pronged strategy:

• Diplomatic: Bequeath increased high-level interaction with Bangladesh to re-emphasize shared strategic interests.
• Economic: Deter Chinese investment with timely, competitive infrastructure initiatives that provide long-term value.
• Military: Strengthen defenses along the Siliguri Corridor and improve surveillance and mobility of troops in the area.
• Public diplomacy: Use historical and cultural affinities with Bangladesh to generate goodwill and public support.

Conclusion: A shadow grows in the East

The Chicken’s Neck might be a thin strip of land, but it carries gigantic strategic significance. Any move, overt or covert, to undermine its security is not merely a local problem; it’s a national red line.

As the world watches the quiet rise of a new airstrip near the Siliguri Corridor, India must decide how to respond not when the concrete is poured, but now, while it is still in blueprint form. Because in geopolitics, the threat that is not confronted early often becomes the crisis that cannot be controlled later.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

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