Reasons to be hopeful in Rohingya issue

With the democratic nominee Joe Biden set to become the 46th president of the sole superpower, many wonder how it will affect global security. In an exclusive, The Asian Age talks with Bangladeshi experts about how this election might affect our security concerns."Indo-Pacific is a key priority area for the US right now. The tone of the conversations might change, but the priority attached to Indo-Pacific will not diminish", says Shafqat Munir, Head of Bangladesh Center for Terrorism Research (BCTR).

He adds that the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (colloquially known as Quad) has already entered a new stage with recent naval exercises. Contrasting this, Shahab Enam Khan, international relations expert and professor of Jahangirnagar University says "Quad is the most ineffective alliance that I have ever heard of, unless it comes up with a strong mandate and substantial buy in from others."

However, on the Rohingya issue, both the experts see reasons to be more hopeful. Shahab thinks that the Biden administration will be more sympathetic to the Rohingya cause. Shafqat suggests, "We need to engage the Biden administration and impress upon the need for an immediate solution."

On the issue of  counter terrorism, Shafqat Munir thinks that we enjoy excellent cooperation with the US which has been steadily built over a long period. Echoing this thought, Shahab also says that our successes in counter-terrorism in the last few years have been well received even by the Trump administration, which will only continue to grow. Both the experts believe that the security cooperation between the US and Bangladesh will be enhanced with Biden as the new president.