Bangladesh Defends Drone Factory Deal, Ignores External Views

Representational image. Photo: Collected

Foreign Affairs Adviser Md Touhid Hossain on 28 January defended the government’s decision to set up a UAV (drone) manufacturing and assembly plant in Bangladesh with Chinese support, stressing that external opinions carry little weight.

“If Bangladesh establishes a factory with the support of another country, it will be done in the interest of Bangladesh and based on its own decision. It does not matter who thinks what,” he told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He added, “Does anyone’s opinion carry importance regarding India or Pakistan?”

Touhid said cooperation with China is ongoing, and any factory established through this process is not a matter for the foreign ministry. When asked about comments by the US Ambassador to Bangladesh, Brent T Christensen, the adviser said, “We will take decisions and act in line with our interests.”

Dhaka and Beijing recently signed a government-to-government (G2G) agreement to establish a UAV manufacturing and assembly plant, including technology transfer, capacity building, and industrial skill development. The deal was signed between the Bangladesh Air Force and China Electronics Technology Group Corporation International (CETC) at the Air Force Headquarters in Dhaka Cantonment.

Under the agreement, Bangladesh Air Force will initially manufacture and assemble Medium Altitude Low Endurance (MALE) and Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) UAVs. Over time, the air force is expected to produce its own indigenous UAVs. These drones will serve both military functions and civilian purposes, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response.

Commenting on US concerns over Chinese influence in South Asia, Ambassador Christensen said the United States would articulate the risks of such involvement to the Bangladeshi government.

In response, a spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in Dhaka described the US remarks as “irresponsible and unfounded,” emphasising that China-Bangladesh cooperation has been mutually beneficial, stable, and conducted as an equal partnership for over 50 years.

The spokesperson stressed that cooperation between Bangladesh and China is a bilateral matter and not open to external interference.