Tag: Hambantota Port

The Sri Lankan Fiasco – Economic Crisis leading to a Political Crisis: An Early Warning or Alarming Call in South Asia?
Analysis, Asia, Featured, World

The Sri Lankan Fiasco – Economic Crisis leading to a Political Crisis: An Early Warning or Alarming Call in South Asia?

Protestors opposed the Gotabaya government with the slogan 'Gota Go Home' in response to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's mismanagement, corruption, nepotism, and bad governance.Relations between India and Sri Lanka deteriorated under Mahinda Rajapaksa's administration while the President utilised Chinese funding to gain local legitimacy and strengthen his hold on power. Keeping with India's "neighbourhood first" policy, New Delhi has donated over USD 3.5 billion in aid to the people of Sri Lanka this year alone to help them overcome their current difficulties.India must acknowledge the Chinese presence and significance of Sri Lanka in its strategic plan and help the island nation come out of this situation. Introduction Sri Lanka, an Indian Ocean Island nation with abo...
Chinese ‘Spy Ship’ at  Hambantota – A Security Nightmare for India & South Asia
Analysis, Asia, Big Block of 4, Defence & Security, Featured

Chinese ‘Spy Ship’ at  Hambantota – A Security Nightmare for India & South Asia

China docked its 'spy ship' in the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka for several days. Despite India’s reluctance and insistence against this decision, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to be docked, buckling down under Chinese pressure. This move has several tactical and strategic consequences on the South Asian region and especially on India’s influence in the region. China exerted its pressure on Sri Lanka and has been successful in sending across the perception of its strategic dominance in the region through this Spy Ship in  India’s naval backyard. Though the official sources in the Sri Lankan government said that this was just a balancing game being played, in order to accommodate the Chinese, it’s quite evident that China did not want to lose face by not being successful in this g...
Leasing of Hambantota land to China for 99 Years! Geopolitical implications for the Subcontinent
Analysis, Asia, Featured

Leasing of Hambantota land to China for 99 Years! Geopolitical implications for the Subcontinent

The current predicament of Sri Lanka with China looks like a carefully crafted plot of the latter to get a comprehensive hold of the Indian Ocean territory.Report of a possibility of gifting a frigate to the Sri Lankan Navy by the Chinese provides an insight into what might follow in the years to come.As the port is already incurring losses, it might just be time before the commercial face of the establishment may soon be utilized for strategic purposes.Presence of Beijing so close is a huge concern for New Delhi as it is also presents a strategic challenge to our naval operations in the eastern waters.Integrating Sri Lanka to India’s coastal security network, joint naval exercises and a foresighted maritime diplomacy is the need of the hour. Background Hambantota, a small d...
Sri Lanka enters into a currency swap agreement with China worth US$ 1.5 billion; Citizens express fear of SL being debt-trapped by China
Asia, Featured, World

Sri Lanka enters into a currency swap agreement with China worth US$ 1.5 billion; Citizens express fear of SL being debt-trapped by China

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) have entered into a bilateral currency swap agreement worth US$ 1.5 billion. CBSL says that the agreement was finalised in order to promote bilateral trade and direct investment for economic development of the two countries, and to be used for other purposes agreed upon by both parties. China remains Sri Lanka’s largest source of imports. In 2020, imports from China amounted to US$ 3.6 billion which is about 22.3% of Sri Lanka’s total imports. This Swap agreement has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Sri Lanka with the recommendation of the Monetary Board of CBSL. Governors of the two Central Banks, Deshamanya Professor W D Lakshman of CBSL and Dr. Yi Gang, Governor of PBOC, are the signatorie...