1. Setting the Stage: The Specter of the Corridor
The emergence of a proposed “humanitarian corridor” connecting the Arakan region of Myanmar to the outside world through Bangladesh is not an isolated gesture of international goodwill. Instead, it harks back to historical precedents where similar rhetoric masked hard geopolitical motives. Corridors have often functioned as the thin edge of interventionist wedges, paving the way for foreign involvement, regime change, or the legitimization of proxy actors.
In this context, the corridor risks becoming a gateway for U.S.-led strategic penetration, not just into Myanmar, but into the heart of South Asian balance. The alignment of the corridor with insurgent activity and covert arms movement under the guise of humanitarianism bears striking resemblance to past interventions in Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
2. An Illegitimate Regime, An Unrepresentative Gamble
At the heart of this unfolding dilemma lies Bangladesh – a nation whose current government holds no electoral mandate. The Yunus-led interim regime, installed following the ousting of the elected government, lacks constitutional legitimacy. It neither represents the will of the people nor adheres to the foundational principles upon which Bangladesh was founded.
Any decision it takes, especially those with massive geopolitical and ethical consequences, must be questioned not only for their outcomes but for the very authority under which they are made. The regime’s submission to U.S. designs casts a long shadow on national sovereignty, one that cannot be overlooked or excused.
3. The Chorus of Actors: State and Non-State Entanglements
The scenario brings together a complex cast of actors: the United States with its strategic doctrines; China, wary and watchful; Myanmar, whose sovereignty is directly endangered; the Arakan Army (AA), a non-state military actor now courted by Western support; India, in whose backyard the entire drama is being played out; and Bangladesh, which finds itself caught in a web of foreign interests and domestic instability.
Crucially, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), another non-state actor with Islamist undertones, lurks in the background. Aligned ideologically, if not operationally, with the Jamaat-e-Islami’s rising influence in Bangladesh, ARSA serves as both a destabilizing factor and a wildcard. The UN and Bangladesh face severe challenges in choosing which non-state entity to legitimize, and in doing so, risk importing new conflicts.
4. Philosophical and Ethical Stakes
This is not merely a tactical or logistical matter. At its core lies a philosophical dilemma: Can a humanitarian act be pursued through mechanisms of violence and partiality? Can Bangladesh remain neutral while facilitating strategic objectives masked as compassion?
This tension between instrumental rationality and moral intentionality is at the heart of the problem. The ethics of intervention collapse when humanitarianism becomes the language of war. Bangladesh, historically known for its compassion toward the Rohingya, now risks shifting from a sanctuary nation to a complicit actor in a regional war.
The engagement with the Arakan Army, a group known to have participated in the persecution of the very Rohingya now being used to justify the corridor, is morally untenable. It marks a radical departure from Bangladesh’s ethical orientation under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who vocally resisted such militaristic entanglements, including rejecting U.S. suggestions to annex parts of Rakhine.
5. The Corridor as a Slippery Slope
To open a corridor is to open a route—not just for aid, but for agendas. Humanitarian corridors, once opened, are rarely neutral. They attract weapons, alliances, and long-term entrenchments. Bangladesh’s involvement would thus become a path to complicity and entanglement, undermining its historical principles of non-alignment, compassion, and regional diplomacy.
Worse, it risks triggering intra-Myanmar escalations, inviting Chinese responses, and possibly prompting violent retaliation within Bangladesh’s own borders.
6. Geopolitical Parallels and The Role of Yunus
In this web of power plays, Yunus may envision for himself a role not unlike that of Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus—a pliable strongman propped up by foreign power, facilitating proxy warfare while maintaining a facade of national control. This comparison, while provocative, is not unfounded. The Belarus model has shown how a seemingly minor actor can serve as the linchpin for great-power confrontation.
If Bangladesh becomes the launching ground for U.S.-sponsored insurgency, it will also become the target of retaliation and regional instability. In this regard, the corridor becomes not a humanitarian necessity but a geopolitical trap.
7. A Final Warning
It is imperative to sound a clear and principled warning: Bangladesh must not walk this path. It must resist the allure of geopolitical favour, the temptation of foreign legitimacy, and the shallow rhetoric of humanitarianism used to mask war.
To do otherwise would be to abandon the country’s moral heritage, constitutional promise, and long-standing commitment to peace. It would make Bangladesh both a pawn and a participant in a regional catastrophe not of its own making.
Let us not allow the corridor to become a tunnel into darkness.
Recommended list of reading materials
Humanitarian Corridor: Strategic Risks & Geopolitical Context
The Business Standard: “Humanitarian corridor to Rakhine: Experts express apprehension, fears
https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/humanitarian-corridor-rakhine-experts-express-apprehension-fears-1130521
The Federal: “Why Bangladesh warming up to US’s Myanmar plan spells trouble
https://thefederal.com/category/analysis/india-myanmar-bangladesh-america-rohingya-rakhine-183058
Prothom Alo: “Bangladesh decides to provide ‘humanitarian corridor’ to Rakhine
https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/ew6q2to1pf
Fortify Rights: “Bangladesh, Arakan Army: Establish Humanitarian Corridor for War Victims
https://www.fortifyrights.org/bgd-inv-2025-03-12/
The Daily Star: “Aid passage to Rakhine: ‘Govt can’t decide unilaterally’
https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/aid-passage-rakhine-govt-cant-decide-unilaterally-3883326
Bangladesh’s Political Legitimacy Crisis
Freedom House: “Bangladesh: Freedom in the World 2025 Country Report
https://freedomhouse.org/country/bangladesh/freedom-world/2025
The Diplomat: “Why Bangladesh’s Muhammad Yunus Must Hold Elections Soon
https://thediplomat.com/2025/04/why-bangladeshs-muhammad-yunus-must-hold-elections-soon/
The Business Standard: “Decision of providing a corridor lacks political legitimacy, people’s mandate
https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/decision-providing-corridor-lacks-political-legitimacy-peoples-mandate-1130466
IACL-AIDC Blog: “Bangladesh’s Constitutional Crossroads: Reforms, Exclusion, and the Quest for Democratic Legitimacy
https://blog-iacl-aidc.org/2025-posts/2025/3/27/bangladeshs-constitutional-crossroads-reforms-exclusion-and-the-quest-for-democratic-legitimacy
Arakan Army (AA) and Rohingya Persecution
Al Jazeera: “The fate of the Rohingya may be in the Arakan Army’s hands
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/7/3/the-fate-of-the-rohingya-may-be-in-the-arakan-armys-hands
Human Rights Watch: “Myanmar: Armies Target Ethnic Rohingya, Rakhine
https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/12/myanmar-armies-target-ethnic-rohingya-rakhine
Anadolu Agency: “Rohingya Muslims face new threat from Arakan Army after being persecuted by Myanmar military
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/asia-pacific/rohingya-muslims-face-new-threat-from-arakan-army-after-being-persecuted-by-myanmar-military/3412335
ARSA, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Islamist Alignments
Northeast News: “Palestinian ideologue secretly met Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami chief in Dhaka
https://nenews.in/neighbours/palestinian-ideologue-secretly-met-bangladesh-jamaat-e-islami-chief-in-dhaka/20765/
Wikipedia: “Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Jamaat-e-Islami
Jamaat-e-Islami Official Website: “News – Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami
https://jamaat-e-islami.org/en/leadership-subcategory.php?cat=1&scat=5
Philosophical and Ethical Dimensions of Humanitarian Intervention
London School of Economics: “New Book: The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention
https://www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/blog/2025/01/08/new-book-the-ethics-of-humanitarian-intervention/
Routledge: “The Ethics of Humanitarian Intervention: An Introduction” by Jonathan Parr
https://www.routledge.com/The-Ethics-of-Humanitarian-Intervention-An-Introduction/Parry/p/book/9781138082342
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: “Armed Humanitarian Intervention
https://iep.utm.edu/hum-mili/
De Ethica Journal: “Humanitarian Intervention and Moral Responsibility
https://de-ethica.com/article/view/1744/1050
Bangladesh’s Historical Compassionate Approach
The Guardian: “’We’ve lost all hope’: Rohingya trapped as Bangladesh closes Myanmar border
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/22/rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-border-myanmar-human-rights
Amnesty International: “Myanmar/Bangladesh: Rohingya community facing gravest threats since 2017
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/10/myanmar-bangladesh-rohingya-community-facing-gravest-threats-since-2017/
Geopolitical Parallels: Belarus and Proxy Dynamics
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): “Arakan Army Posed to ‘Liberate’ Myanmar’s Rakhine State
https://www.csis.org/analysis/arakan-army-posed-liberate-myanmars-rakhine-state
AP News: “Ethnic armed group claims capture of a strategic Myanmar town and control of border with Bangladesh
https://apnews.com/article/680c84094241949fe3fa36c
I am Iconus Clustus—justice activist, truth-seeker, and writer. My work is rooted in the unfinished struggle for recognition of the 1971 Bangladesh Genocide. Guided by philosophy, I write to provoke thought, stir conscience, and insist on justice as a shared responsibility.