Unchecked Chinese influence may challenge the sovereignty and strategic autonomy of the Indo-Pacific region, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said today.
"This, in turn, could precipitate instability and impede the prosperity we collectively seek," Peter Haas said at a session on the last day of the three-day Bay of Bengal Conversations organised by the Center for Governance Studies (CGS) at a hotel in Dhaka.
Canadian High Commissioner Lilly Nichols, Australian High Commissioner Jeremy Bruer and UK High Commissioner Sarah Cooke also spoke at the session moderated by CGS Executive Director Zillur Rahman.
Haas said the US believes in the international rule-based system in the Indo-Pacific region based on freedom of navigation and openness.
The US Indo-Pacific Strategy also believes in the promotion of democracy, human rights and prosperity in the region, he said.
"As we chart our course through the coming decades in the Indo-Pacific, we must not lose sight of the evolving nature of the Peoples' Republic of China's (PRC) influence," the ambassador said.
He said the Belt and Road Initiative, along with the PRC's expansive maritime ambitions, have signalled a new epoch in the dynamics of this region.
"And this brings us to the most pressing strategic challenge to our vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific: authoritarian powers trying to alter the fundamental rules of the road in international affairs.
"We must approach this juncture with unyielding vigilance," he said.
Haas said Russia's brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call to the world.
"It demonstrates that the ideals we aspire to, not just in the Indo-Pacific, but globally, cannot be taken for granted, rather they must be defended," Haas said.
The US will conduct itself as a reasonable leader, he said.
"We do not seek conflict. We do not seek a cold war ... but we will be unabashed in promoting our vision of a free, open, secure, and prosperous world and what we have to offer to the communities of nations."
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