Newly appointed US Ambassador to Bangladesh Brent T Christensen on Wednesday said he is concerned about broader Chinese influence in South Asia, stressing that they have a host of options available to try to help their partner militaries meet their capability needs.

‘You know, as I said in my hearing…I am concerned about broader Chinese influence in South Asia. I think the United States government has been very clear about that," he said while responding to a question during an interaction with a small group of journalists.

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"And as I committed to my hearing, I will always engage with our friends in the government—be it the interim government or the newly elected government-- to clearly articulate the risks of involvement with the Chinese in certain areas should the Bangladesh government choose to go down that path," Ambassador Christensen said.

He said the US and Bangladesh have strong military-to-military cooperation, and it has been growing stronger.

The envoy said they have partnerships across all branches of Bangladesh defense forces, working with the Navy on maritime security, with the Army, and with the Air Force on operational and emergency response readiness through a host of training and exercises.

He said they are working with the Bangladeshi military in support of its plans for modernisation and developing its capabilities, especially as it looks to expand what it can do in peacekeeping, but also what it can do here for domestic security needs.

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"You know, security issues are a topic..... of great interest to me given the prior role that I had as a senior official back in Washington and also my long experience here in Bangladesh," the Ambassador said.

During his nomination hearing, Senator Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, a Republican, asked Christensen about what he described as Bangladesh’s growing military-to-military cooperation with China.

Saying he shared the senator's concern over Chinese influence in South Asia, Christensen at the hearing said if confirmed, he would engage with the Bangladesh government and military to “clearly articulate the risks from Chinese activity, involvement with their military activities in the maritime domain and in their critical infrastructure, as well as highlight the opportunities and benefits that come with a closer partnership with the United States, especially military-to-military.”