Bangladesh's interim government chief adviser, Muhammad Yunus, recently courted controversy over his remarks during a four-day visit to China, where he claimed that his country was the "only guardian" of the ocean as the northeastern states of India were "landlocked."  

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Making a pitch to Beijing to expand its economic presence in the region, Yunus said, "Seven states of India, eastern part of India, called seven sisters... they are landlocked country, landlocked region of India. They have no way to reach out to the ocean."

"We are the only guardian of the ocean for all this region. So this opens up a huge possibility. So this could be an extension of the Chinese economy. Build things, produce things, market things, bring things to China, bring it out to the whole rest of the world," Yunus said.

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He also met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss potential collaboration on river water management, specifically seeking China's expertise in addressing the challenges faced by the Teesta River.

"We have come here to learn from you; how we can make water resources useful to people," Yunus was quoted as saying by Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

India responds to Yunus' statement

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Member of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s economic advisory council, Sanjeev Sanyal, shared Yunus' video on X, saying, "Interesting that Yunus is making a public appeal to the Chinese on the basis that 7 states in India are land-locked. China is welcome to invest in Bangladesh, but what exactly is the significance of 7 Indian states being landlocked?"

Former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Veena Sikri said that the statement was "very shocking" and Yunus had "absolutely no right to make a statement like that."

"Very shocking statement by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus. He has absolutely no right to make a statement like that. He knows that the northeast is an integral part of India and we have had very close discussions with the Government of Bangladesh on access by Northeast India to the Bay of Bengal and there are formal agreements on this...We must condemn the statement...I can tell Bangladesh one thing very clearly that if they are not interested in giving connectivity rights to Northeast India then they cannot expect any rights as a riparian. So they should know this very clearly and they should not have any illusions about this," she said.

Defence Expert Captain Anil Gaur (Retired) said that Bangladesh is reaching out to China for funds as its economy had collapsed and that the country was in the same situation as it was during the time of East Pakistan before its liberation in 1971. 

"Muhammad Yunus has gone to China to get some funds because Bangladesh's economy has collapsed...USAID, which was funding Bangladesh, has also stopped under the order of President Donald Trump. Today, Bangladesh is in the same situation as it was during the time of East Pakistan before its liberation in 1971. So, Muhammad Yunus has no other option but to go to China and sing praises for them and try to sell his country and his economy...India has nothing to worry because India is in a very strong position and India is now taking steps to ensure that all the jihadi elements and others trying to infiltrate from Bangladesh are stopped."

(With inputs from agencies)