Hasina accuses US of involvement in her removal

Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned last week amid protests against quotas for government jobs, has accused the US of being involved in her removal from power, according to Indian media reports on Sunday.

"I could have remained in power if I had surrendered the sovereignty of Saint Martin Island and allowed America to hold sway over the Bay of Bengal. I beseech to the people of my land, 'Please do not be manipulated by radicals'," the Economic Times quoted her as saying.

The Saint Martin Island is a stretch of land spreading across merely three square kilometers in the northeastern part of the Bay of Bengal.

According to The Print, the biggest advantage for anyone with a military base at Saint Martin Island, "despite its small size, would be the strategic presence it would have over the Strait of Malacca, which the Chinese use majorly for their transportation."

Sources told The Print that the island can be turned into a good listening post for surveillance activities, focused not just on China's and Myanmar's activities, but also India's.

Media also reported that some leaders in the Awami League have blamed the US for the political upheaval in Dhaka, alleging that a senior US diplomat's visit in May was part of a strategy to pressure Hasina into acting against China.

Given the US and some Western countries' long-term criticism of Hasina's tough stance toward the US, there had been speculations about potential Western involvement in the Bangladesh movement, experts noted. Hasina was not compliant with the US on many issues, which could be the reason for the US seeking to overthrow her, Liu Zongyi, director of the Center for South Asia Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told the Global Times on Monday.

Global observers are closely monitoring how the incident will influence regional situation.

According to the Economic Times, the resignation of Hasina created uncertainties for India, as Bangladesh was "New Delhi's strongest ally" and the bilateral relations had reached a new height during her terms.

The protests that led to her departure also carried an anti-India sentiment, media reported.