Statement by the US Embassy in response to Menon’s remarks

The United States has not made any claims on any territory.

In the general discussion on the proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year in the National Parliament, Workers Party Chairman Rashed Khan Menon mentioned the “regime change” tactics of the United States regarding the new visa policy. They want Bangladesh to join the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). They are doing everything to remove the current government. This has sparked a debate in the political arena. Many ordinary people wanted to know the response of the United States on this matter. When contacted about this issue, Sean McIntosh Benjamin, the Public Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Dhaka, stated, “The United States and Bangladesh maintain a strong and cooperative partnership. We respect the sovereignty of the country. We have not made any claims on any part of the country. We value our partnership with Bangladesh in ensuring a safe and secure Indo-Pacific region and work together to strengthen our relationship through promoting democracy with free and fair elections.”

On the other hand, to learn the response to Menon’s statement regarding the Quad, a few days ago, during a press conference at the White House, Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said, “At this moment, there are no plans regarding new members (joining) for the Quad. The Quad members have agreed to focus on strengthening the power capabilities of the alliance. However, the Quad welcomes the opportunity to work with an expanded group of Indo-Pacific partners. For example, its maritime domain awareness, which provides modern maritime domain awareness technology to countries around the region.”

Note that maritime domain awareness refers to the effective understanding of anything related to the maritime domain that can impact security, economy, or the marine environment.