The smaller nations like Bangladesh should avoid partisan and military engagements with the big powers in the region to uphold strategic autonomy, a webinar was told on Wednesday. The smaller independent nations in the region such as Bangladesh need to avoid any kind of partisan and military entanglements to ensure strategic autonomy and avoid escalation into a second cold war, said President of Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPSS) Maj. Gen. (Retd) ANM Muniruzzaman. He, however, said the nature of competition between the Quad and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is currently more economical than militaristic. Muniruzzaman said the strategic tension between the USA and China might have an adverse effect on the stability of the Asia-Pacific region.