This Island Led To Sheikh Hasina's Exile From Bangladesh. Now Reports Say It Could Go To The US

Last Updated:August 13, 2025, 18:01 IST

Sheikh Hasina, ousted as Bangladesh's PM, claims US pressure for a military base on St Martin Island led to her exile. Nobel laureate Yunus' interim government may hand it over.

As of August 13, 2025, St Martin remains fully under Bangladeshi sovereignty. (News18 Hindi)

It has been over a year since Sheikh Hasina was ousted as Prime Minister of Bangladesh and fled to India by helicopter, where she has remained in political exile. The dramatic exit followed a rebellion in Dhaka that Hasina claimed was orchestrated by the United States. According to her, the US’ pressure to allow a military base on one of Bangladesh’s islands, a request she said she refused, was the real reason for her removal from office.

The island in question, St Martin, has long been off-limits to visitors due to its sensitive location. In the days following Hasina’s flight to India, it was at the centre of heated political debate. Now, reports suggest the interim government led by Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus could be preparing to hand over control of the island to the US, though no official confirmation has been made.

Known in Bengali as ‘Narikel Jinjira’ or ‘Daruchini Dweep’, St Martin Island is a small, 3-square-kilometre coral island in the northeast Bay of Bengal, close to the Myanmar border. Its location gives it immense strategic value. Hasina has repeatedly claimed that US interest in establishing a military base there was part of a wider Indo-Pacific strategy to counter China’s influence. In 2023, she said, “I could have stayed in power if I had leased the island," but insisted she would not “sell the country’s assets". The US denied the allegations.

The island’s history stretches back over 5,000 years. Once part of the Teknaf Peninsula, it became separated due to rising sea levels. Arab traders settled there in the 18th century, calling it ‘Jazeera’. Under British rule in 1900, it was named after a local administrator, Deputy Commissioner Martin.

The territory later became part of Pakistan after the 1947 partition, and then joined Bangladesh following the 1971 Liberation War. A 1974 agreement between Bangladesh and Myanmar affirmed its Bangladeshi ownership, a stance upheld by the Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

Today, St Martin is home to roughly 6,000 fishing families and is a hub for tourism from October to April, attracting about 10,000 visitors daily in peak season. It boasts 153 species of seaweed, 66 types of coral, 240 species of fish, 120 bird species, and 29 types of reptiles. In 2022, it was declared a marine protected area.

Despite its ecological richness, the island’s geopolitical weight is what fuels international interest. Its proximity to Myanmar puts it near the ongoing Rohingya crisis and along key maritime routes. Control over St Martin would allow the monitoring of the Strait of Malacca, a chokepoint through which around 80 percent of China’s energy imports pass, and could influence stability in the north-eastern part of India.

As of August 12, 2025, St Martin remains fully under Bangladeshi sovereignty. No American military base has been built, and no official agreement for transfer exists. However, speculation persists that Yunus’ interim government may offer the US not only the island but also the Chittagong port and a corridor to Myanmar’s Rakhine state in an effort to strengthen ties with Washington. The government has not confirmed these claims.

Currently, civilian access to St Martin is restricted, officially due to heightened tensions with Myanmar. Some local reports allege that the restrictions are part of a “master plan" to relocate residents ahead of potential foreign military use.

Bangladesh is home to anywhere from 700 to over 1,000 islands, depending on the source, with some estimates, counting seasonal sandbars, reaching up to 7,000. The largest, Bhola, spans about 3,402 square kilometres and has a population of 17 lakh. Other inhabited islands include Nijhum, Hatiya, Sandwip, Manpura, and Maheshkhali. St Martin, despite its size, remains the most internationally watched.

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