DHAKA - US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena on Tuesday dismissed as untrue the notion that the ultimate objective of US-Bangladesh Security Dialogue is to forge a US-India-Bangladesh axis against China.

"China is not the enemy of America. You never hear that from President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton or Defense Secretary Leon Panetta," he said, briefing journalists on the outcome of the last week's Security Dialogue between Bangladesh and the United States.

"In certain area China may be our competitor. Our competitors are (also) UK, France and Canada. That's fine," he said.

"There is no axis between anybody against anybody. China is a rising economic, political, diplomatic and military power. I think they can be a force for good in Bangladesh, in the region and in the world," He added.

Mozena said the security dialogue is not about Bangladesh versus China, but about Bangladesh and the United States sharing perspectives and permanent objectives on how to work for mutual benefit.

The first ever Bangladesh-US Security Dialogue was held at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) last Thursday. Washington also holds similar dialogues with India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Thailand and the Philippines, he said.  

Mozena said this is a mechanism Washington uses with its friends to exchange views for mutual benefit. This could become a regular dialogue on a yearly basis to talk to each other and give strategic directions to the security relations between the two countries.

During the dialogue, he said, both sides discussed military cooperation on equipment, joint exercise, training and building capacity. Both sides were pleased with the depth of present military cooperation, he added.

The US ambassador said the two sides also talked about regional issues and shared their perspectives on developments in China, Afghanistan, Myanma and India.

He said from a US point of view, Bangladesh is of great strategic importance to America, and praised the country as a model of moderate and tolerant democracy alternative to violent extremism.  

Besides, he said Bangladesh is the largest troop-contributing country to the UN peacekeeping missions and the United States wants to help train these forces.

On counter-terrorism, the ambassador said both Bangladesh and America share common views on this issue, saying Bangladesh made remarkable progress in combating terrorism and made impressive progress in partnering with India on counterterrorism.