US troops in Bangladesh’s Chittagong set off alarm bells in India

Bangladesh is reportedly hosting a contingent of US armed forces in its strategic Chittagong region.

According to The Economic Times, two large tactical transport aircraft—the C-130J Super Hercules—landed at Shah Amanat International Airport in Chittagong on Sunday.

It was reportedly flown in from the US Air Force's Yokota station in Japan.

The C-130J Super Hercules is used for tactical air transport, airdrop of personnel and equipment, humanitarian and disaster relief, search and rescue operations and special operations.

More than 100 personnel from the US Army and Air Force are said to be stationed in Chittagong for a military exercise.

This comes months after the US and Bangladesh held joint military exercises, called Operation Pacific Angel-25 and Tiger Lightning-2025, again in Chittagong.

US troops in Bangladesh

The significant presence of the US armed forces in Bangladesh has raised eyebrows, given its proximity to the Indian and Myanmar borders.

Last month, a US Special Forces officer was found dead in an upscale hotel in Dhaka.

This incident is said to have fuelled unease within the Bangladesh military over an expanding American footprint in the country.

Earlier, Bangladesh’s ousted prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, had accused the US of orchestrating anti-Hasina protests in the country.

She hinted that her refusal to cede St Martin Island for an American military base led to her political exile.