US-Bangladesh military exercise: BanglaFact flags false video

Staff Reporter :

The fact-checking platform BanglaFact, run by the Press Institute Bangladesh (PIB), has exposed a false video claiming that China sent a warship in response to a recent joint military exercise between the United States (US) and Bangladesh. The video is actually old and unrelated to the exercise.

According to BanglaFact’s investigation team, the misleading claims emerged after the conclusion of “Operation Pacific Angel 25-3,” a joint drill conducted by the Bangladesh Air Force and the US Pacific Air Forces.

The exercise began on September 14 and concluded on September 18 in Chattogram.

Following the drill, a video began circulating on social media-particularly Facebook-alleging that Chinese warships were heading toward Bangladesh.

The misinformation fueled further speculation, with some claiming that a war between India, China, and the US could break out at any moment, the team noted.

BanglaFact confirmed that these claims are false. The video is neither connected to the “Operation Pacific Angel 25-3” exercise nor is it recent.

Investigation revealed that the footage actually shows an incident from December 2023, in which two Chinese Coast Guard ships used water cannons against a Philippine vessel in a disputed area of the South China Sea.

The incident occurred near the Scarborough Shoal, where Chinese vessels confronted a ship from the Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).