Chinese Defence Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe was in Sri Lanka last week seeking to shore up support for Chinese projects at a time when new faultlines have emerged in the island nation on China’s growing footprint. This was the second high profile Chinese visit to Sri Lanka after the one by Yang Jiechi, Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs of the ruling Communist Party, in October last year. Even during the pandemic, Beijing’s overtures to Sri Lanka have continued unabated with an awareness that perhaps this a unique moment to push Chinese influence as the Rajapaksa clan is in full control. The Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka has taken an unusually high profile role in pushing the cause of the Chinese-built Port City in Colombo.
The Colombo Port City project is important for China as a key node in its Maritime Silk Road in the Indian Ocean and so it is to be expected that Beijing will go all out in ensuring its finalisation. Sri Lanka is touting this $1.4 billion project as the single largest private sector development ever in the island nation in an attempt to justify bending the domestic laws in its favour. And this has generated a massive outcry from various groups in the country who see this as a violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty. Read More…
