Chinese officials are reportedly inspecting a World War II air base in Bangladesh closer to India’s ‘Chicken Neck

By ritu sharma Defence analyst.

Defense experts see the Chinese Army or Air Force gaining access to an airbase in Bangladesh as inimical to India’s strategic interests in the North East and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which sit at the mouth of the Malacca Strait, a critical choke point for China.

Indian intelligence agencies have information that Chinese military officials have recently visited the Rangpur district. Rangpur district is just 20 km from the Indian border and 130 kilometers from Siliguri, an important Indian military hub. In January this year, a top Pakistani spy visited the Rangpur district.

EurAsian Times was the first to report that Bangladesh had invited China to develop Lamonirhat airbase. The news became a Hot Topic in India and sparked a flurry of debates across the country.

Now, the Assam Tribune quoted Indian agencies saying that Chinese officials were interested in the World War II-era air base at Lamonirhat. Dhaka has sought assistance from China to revive the airbase. The project was unveiled in March 2025.

Lamonirhat was once one of the biggest airfields in Asia. It was built in 1931 as a military airbase. During the Second World War, the Allied Forces operated from here to conduct missions in Burma and other Southeast Asian Countries.

The project comes at a time when Bangladeshi politicians, including Muhammad Yunus’s close aides, have been making not-so-veiled references to annexing the North Eastern states of India.

Indian security agencies are monitoring the development closely. It is unclear if the airfield is being developed for civilian or military purposes or if the Chinese and Pakistani air forces will have access to it.