New Port Deal Helps Counter China Influence as Foreign Secy Shringla Begins Lanka Visit

Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla embarked on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka on Saturday, his first since assuming office last year, during which he will meet Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, and review bilateral ties.

Shringla’s visit comes at the invitation of his Lankan counterpart Jayanath Colombage amid concerns over China’s increasing influence in the island nation, which is even believed to have led to India being cut off the project to develop and operate the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port in February this year.

While it was said that trade unions linked to the ruling Lanka coalition opposed giving New Delhi a partially built terminal within the port, Chinese objection to India entering the strategic port is believed to have motivated Lanka’s decision.

However, in encouraging signs for bilateral ties ahead of Shringla’s visit, Lanka’s port authority signed an agreement with India’s Adani Group to build a brand-new terminal next to a $500-million Chinese-run jetty at the sprawling Colombo port.

Colombo is located in the Indian Ocean between the major hubs of Dubai and Singapore, meaning influence at its ports is highly sought after. Sri Lanka is also key in the battle for influence in South Asia between traditional powers India and China, which has been making increasing inroads in the island nation.

In December 2017, unable to repay a huge Chinese loan, Sri Lanka allowed China Merchants Port Holdings to take over the southern Hambantota port, which straddles the world’s busiest east-west shipping route.

The deal, which gave the Chinese company a 99-year lease, raised fears about Beijing’s use of “debt traps” in exerting its influence abroad.

India and the United States have also expressed concerns that a Chinese foothold at Hambantota could give Beijing a military advantage in the Indian Ocean.

On the eve of Shringla’s visit, Lankan President Gotabaya extended to China on its 72nd National Day, thanking Beijing for being a “true friend of Sri Lanka… by helping to make our vaccination process a success”.

India, too, has lent Lanka a helping hand in the fight against Covid-19. In January this year, New Delhi gifted 5 lakh vaccines to Colombo. In February, Lanka ordered and received 5 lakh doses from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India. India had to stop exports during the second Covid-19 wave to meet demands at home.

In his talks in Colombo, Shringla is also expected to reiterate India’s views on the long-pending Tamil issue.

India has been consistently calling upon Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments to protect the interests of the Tamil community and preserve the island nation’s character as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society. The Tamil community in Sri Lanka has been demanding the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that provides for devolution of power to it. The 13th amendment was brought in after the Indo-Sri Lankan agreement of 1987.

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