NEW DELHI: India is vigilant of developments in its neighbourhood that “have a bearing” on its “interest and security”, the external affairs ministry said of a recent trilateral meeting between Pakistan, Bangladesh and China, adding that it factors in the “evolving context” in its bilateral relations with these countries.

According to The Wire, during a trilateral meeting in Kunming, China, on June 19 involving Chinese vice foreign minister Sun Weidong, Bangladesh’s acting foreign secretary Ruhul Siddique and Pakistan’s additional foreign secretary Imran Siddiqui, the three sides agreed to explore cooperation in a number of sectors including trade, ‘maritime affairs’, health and the environment.

Asked for comment on the meeting during the ministry’s weekly press briefing on Thursday, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that “we maintain a constant watch on the developments in our neighbourhood that have a bearing on our interest and our security”.

“Our relations with individual countries, while they stand on their own footing, take into account the evolving context as well,” he added.

According to The Wire, New Delhi’s remarks suggest a degree of discomfort with the trilateral meeting, comprising countries with whom it either has hostile or uneasy relations, and come as it has otherwise publicly espoused the view that it does not see bilateral relations through the lens of third countries.

Incidentally, the Chinese readout of the trilateral meeting had noted that cooperation among the three sides was “not directed at any third party”.

Dhaka echoed this view on Thursday, with its interim foreign adviser Touhid Hossain telling reporters that the meeting was “certainly” not “targeting any third party”.

‘Readjustment’ in Delhi-Dhaka ties

He also acknowledged that Dhaka’s relationship with New Delhi was undergoing “readjustment” during the tenure of Muhammad Yunus’s interim government as compared to warmer relations earlier under deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who has remained in India since she took refuge here immediately after her violent ouster in August last year.

Bilateral relations have soured after Yunus took office, with India insisting that religious minorities in Bangladesh have been vulnerable to being attacked under his watch.

Published in Dawn, June 28th, 2025