Why rely on China for Rohingya repatriation?

The thorny issue of Rohingya repatriation, among other mutual issues, has reportedly been discussed in Dhaka during the two-day visit of the Chinese Special Envoy for Asian Affairs Deng Xijun, which ended on Tuesday. According to media reports, this was Xijun’s second visit to Dhaka within less than four months and he had separate meetings with both the foreign minister and the foreign secretary.
However, neither the foreign ministry nor any other high officials shared anything about the visit of the Chinese special envoy yet. Rather, it seems the ministry has chosen to play it cool.
The question is being raised now what is the future of the pilot project to repatriate Rohingyas to Myanmar? Is the government moving away from this initiative? Or does it still think it is correct to continue with this initiative with China’s support? Earlier there were two initiatives taken for the repatriation of the Rohingyas but both went in vain.

The UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, has said the Rohingyas still face serious risks to their lives and liberty in Rakhine from where they were forced to leave about seven years back. He also claimed that the Bangladeshi authorities are using ‘deceptive’ and ‘coercive’ measures to compel Rohingya refugees to return to Myanmar. He said the conditions in Myanmar were anyway not conducive for the safe, dignified, sustainable, and voluntary return of Rohingya refugees.

Lastly, a Rohingya delegation has visited Rakhine to inspect the situation for repatriation there. From the experience they shared upon returning, it seems that they are interested in being repatriated “voluntarily”? Some diplomats too visited Rakhine. It was apparent that the Myanmar government had no intention of returning the hearths and homes from which they had evicted the Rohingyas. Would the Rohingyas be voluntarily willing to accept such a repatriation?

It is to be noted that there are over 1.2 million Rohingyas sheltered in Bangladesh. And this number is going up by around 30,000 every year, given the infants being born in the camps. It is difficult for Bangladesh to sustain this pressure. They must be sent back to Myanmar. The only way to do this is to mount such global pressure on Myanmar so that they are forced to take the Rohingyas back.
Instead of doing that, taking up an unrealistic pilot project at China’s advice, means incurring the wrath of the UN and the rest of the global community which is empathetic towards the Rohingyas. What is the meaning of taking such a risk knowingly?