How did the Cold War influence the Bangladesh Liberation War?

During the Bangladesh Liberation War, global powers aligned themselves based on Cold War calculations, significantly shaping the conflict's international dimensions.1

The United States, under President Richard Nixon, feared that an outcome favoring India would expand Soviet influence in Asia. Consequently, the U.S. and China signaled support for a united Pakistan, with the U.S. even illegally sending weapons to the Pakistani government despite congressional restrictions.123

In contrast, the Soviet Union acted as India’s principal military supplier. In August 1971, India and the Soviet Union signed the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation, which provided India with crucial military and logistical support. During the war, the Soviet Union backed India in the United Nations by vetoing critical resolutions and dispatched a naval task force to the Bay of Bengal to counter a U.S. naval force led by the USS Enterprise, which had been deployed in a show of support for Pakistan.142