The Bay of Bengal is back. From the Indo-Pacific to maritime security, supply chains to connectivity corridors and climate resilience to sustainable development, policy conversations are starting to recognise that what happens in and around this maritime space will shape the future of Asia. Stretching from India’s eastern seaboard in the west to Bangladesh in the north, Myanmar and Thailand in the east, and Sri Lanka in the south, the Bay of Bengal is today where Asia meets. And yet, there is a paradox.