Representatives from 25 Indian Ocean nations discussed regional economic growth, cooperation and security at the Indian Ocean Conference in Bangladesh on Friday as the Indo-Pacific grows in importance amid changes in the world order.

Government officials and experts discussed the Russia-Ukraine war prominently in several sessions, reflecting concerns about how countries in the region would align themselves in the new complex order stemming from the war.

"The Indian Ocean has reemerged as an important area, not only for economic resources, but also because ... it has gradually been becoming a theater of geopolitics," said Delwar Hossain, professor of international relations at Dhaka University. "So now we can see that the littoral countries of the Indian Ocean are facing a new context, particularly when we see Ukraine."

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Countries in the region have had to cope with rising inflation and supply chain disruptions as well as questions of security alignments as a result of the war.

Bangladesh is hosting the two-day conference, organized by the India Foundation with the affiliation of the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. China is attending as an observer, while Myanmar was not invited because of continuing violence following its military's seizure of power.

The Indian Ocean Conference started in 2016, and in the past six years it has emerged as the flagship consultative forum for countries in the region on regional affairs.

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The region includes 38 countries in the region, including 13 in Africa, 22 in Asia and one in Oceania that border the Indian Ocean, and two European countries that administer several dependencies or overseas territories in the region.

The vast Indian Ocean is vital for global trade and energy resources, but also faces challenges such as piracy, terrorism and geopolitical tensions, organizers say.

Veena Sikri, a former Indian ambassador to Bangladesh, said the importance of the region has increased in recent times as the countries around it become increasingly interconnected.

She said the conference is crucial because China is in conflict with rivals including the U.S., Japan and India in the Indo-Pacific region over establishing supremacy and controlling sea routes.

"Now, this time, the focus of this Indian Ocean conference is on the Indo-Pacific because that is the trend of the future," she said.

Three suspects allegedly held an Ohio woman captive for three days, beat her and burned her with chemicals over a $450 debt, according to court documents.

The victim told police she stayed with the three suspects - Amanda Vance, 32, Tiffany Lyons, 34, and Billy Woolard, 32 - in a Springfield, Ohio, home for the last two and a half weeks. 

She made a comment "to an unknown person" that Woolard would not let her leave until she paid $450, court filings obtained by Fox News Digital allege. 

This got back to the three suspects, who allegedly took turns beating the victim. The victim later told responding officers from a hospital bed that they would not let her leave, eat or drink for three days, court documents allege.

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"(The victim) advised during these three days they continued to beat on her, choked her, cut her clothes off, cut her hair and pour what she thought was bleach on her," the probable cause affidavit read. 

She had "visible severe chemical burns to her back and side, cuts and bruising all over her body, and swelling to her legs and face," according to the affidavit, which was written by a Springfield police officer.

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Vance allegedly uploaded a Facebook story with pictures of the victim's injuries and wrote, "We beat the breaks off this b----."

While the alleged suspects were asleep one night, the victim slipped out of the house and banged on nearby neighbor's door, who saw bruises all over her body, and let her come inside.

While the victim called her mother, the good Samaritan called 911. 

Emergency personnel tended to the victim's injuries and rushed her to the hospital while law enforcement dealt with the suspects. 

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After a brief standoff, all three were arrested and charged with kidnapping, abduction and felony assault. They appeared in court on Wednesday. 

They pleaded not guilty, and the judge set bond at $100,000 for each suspect. 

The woman who helped save the victim told WHIO TV7 in an exclusive interview that she thinks the victim would have died if she did not escape when she did. 

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"They’re monsters, that’s horrible to ever do something, that’s what it says to me," the woman told the local news outlet. "It takes some sick monsters to do something like that to somebody."