We respect Bangladesh’s right to make foreign policy decisions: US

US State Department spokesman Ned Price. Pic/AFP

The United States (US) has taken note of a Chinese diplomat's statement warning Bangladesh against joining the Quad, the informal grouping of Australia, India, Japan and America to coordinate in the Indo-Pacific region, a top State Department official has said.

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday that the US has an incredibly strong relationship with Bangladesh.

"We have taken note of that statement from the People's Republic of China ambassador to Bangladesh. "What we would say is that we respect Bangladesh's sovereignty and we respect Bangladesh's right to make foreign policy decisions for itself," Price said.

Responding to a question, he said that the US is close with its partners on a range of issues from economic growth to climate change to humanitarian issues.

"When it comes to the Quad, we have said this before, it's an informal, essential, multilateral mechanism that right now convenes like-minded democracies, the US, India, Australia and Japan to coordinate in the Indo-Pacific and fundamentally to push forward our goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Price said.

In a provocative remark on Monday, China's ambassador in Dhaka Li Jiming warned Bangladesh against joining the US-led Quad alliance, saying that Dhaka's participation in the anti-Beijing "club" would result in "substantial damage" to bilateral relations.

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