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| President Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived in China on January 14 on a four-day official visit. Pix:PMD |
| By Veeragathy Thanabalasingham
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (AKD) is visiting China this week, exactly a month after his first official foreign visit to India.
Accompanied by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath and Transport Minister Bimal Rathnayake, he is scheduled to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Li Qiang next Wednesday (15) and hold talks, and it has been announced that about 10 Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) in various aspects will be signed in Beijing during his visit.
It has been a tradition for Sri Lankan presidents to pay their first official foreign visit to India after assuming office. Similarly, President Dissanayake also visited New Delhi last month and held talks with Indian leaders.
It was announced ahead of his mid-December Indian visit that the President would visit China in January. This will be Dissanayake’s second major international bilateral engagement since coming to power last September.
It is worth mentioning first of all two events that took place in Colombo last week, ahead of the President’s visit to China.
Commitment to ‘One China’ policy
The National People’s Power (NPP) Government reaffirmed its commitment to the ‘One China’ policy and declared that it recognised the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate Government of China and considered the island of Taiwan as a province of China.
Cabinet Spokesperson Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa announced at the weekly press conference last Tuesday (7) that the Cabinet had approved the proposal submitted by Foreign Minister Herath in this regard. We are not aware of any Sri Lankan president in the past announcing the re-recognition of the ‘One China’ policy before his/her visit to China.
Sri Lanka was one of the countries that initially recognised the People’s Republic of China, which was established after the Communist Party of China came to power in October 1949 following the successful revolution led by Chairman Mao Zedong. The Sri Lankan (then Ceylon) Government recognised China on 6 January 1950.
During the United National Party (UNP) Government of Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake, the Rubber-Rice Pact was signed between China and Sri Lanka in April 1952. It is noteworthy that Sri Lanka was the first South Asian country to recognise Communist China.
Seven years later, during the Government of Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, the then Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai paid a five-day visit to Sri Lanka in January 1957. His historic visit led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on 7 February that year.
Regardless of the political party in power in Sri Lanka, all governments have maintained a cordial and close relations with China. Sri Lankans view China as a long-standing ally in bilateral cooperation and in international forums, including United Nations (UN) bodies.
We are not aware of any Chinese leader ever doubting Sri Lanka’s commitment to the ‘One China’ policy or of any previous Sri Lankan head of government making a statement reaffirming its commitment to the ‘One China’ policy prior to a visit to China.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the flagship party of the NPP, has been maintaining strong ties with the Chinese Communist Party. Therefore, the question has arisen as to why the NPP Government was compelled to reaffirm the ‘One China’ policy ahead of President Dissanayake’s visit.
The Cabinet Spokesperson said that the Cabinet decision to continue adhering to the ‘One China’ policy had no connection with the President’s visit to China.
Responding to a question from reporters, he said that when a new government was elected, Cabinet decisions taken by the previous government had to be approved and that the proposal had been presented by Foreign Minister Herath to the Cabinet accordingly. He further said that even if the President was not visiting China, the Government would adhere to the ‘One China’ policy. However, his response was not convincing.
‘Republic of China’
At a recent function in Colombo, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, while thanking China for its assistance, mistakenly mentioned ‘Republic of China’ instead of ‘People’s Republic of China’ in the presence of the Chinese Ambassador.
The Republic of China refers to Taiwan. The Chinese Ambassador was said to have been uncomfortable with the Prime Minister thanking Taiwan for China’s assistance.
But even the Prime Minister, without realising the need to correct her mistake, blamed the media. It seems that the Chinese side may have insisted that the Government express a clear position on the ‘One China’ policy before the President’s visit, as the country’s Prime Minister herself spoke as if she did not understand the difference between the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China.
India and research vessels
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Colombo Santosh Jha’s meeting with journalists last Tuesday also received significant attention.
Some observers interpreted the meeting as suggesting that the Indian side may have wanted to send a message to Colombo by saying that Sri Lanka’s relations with India were at an all-time high ahead of his visit to China.
The High Commissioner said that India had opened the year “being extremely positive and buoyant” about its Sri Lanka partnership. President Dissanayake’s recent visit added “renewed vigour” to ties and deliberations have put the relationship on a “higher plane,” he said.
While giving an update on the highlights of Dissanayake’s visit to India, he was asked whether India had held any talks with the Sri Lankan Government regarding Chinese research vessels, following the expiry of the one-year moratorium imposed by the previous Government on foreign research vessels entering Sri Lankan waters on 31 December 2024.
In response, the Indian High Commissioner pointed to Dissanayake’s categorical statement in India and what was stated in the NPP’s election manifesto and said: “We take Sri Lanka at its word... We completely trust Sri Lanka to take the right actions with regard to that commitment. We are fully confident that Sri Lanka will take appropriate steps in this regard.”
President Dissanayake reiterated the NPP’s position that Sri Lanka’s territory would never be allowed to be used for any action that could harm India’s security and regional stability during his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The fact that India has confidence in the Sri Lankan President’s commitment can be seen from the High Commissioner’s comments at the meeting with journalists.
This is not a new commitment made by Dissanayake. Previous presidents have also said the same thing. However, we have seen many occasions in the past where India has been upset as a result of their actions.
Chinese officials have repeatedly said that the one-year interim ban imposed by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Government on the entry of foreign research vessels was due to pressure from a third party and that there could be no outside interference that could affect bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and China. The Chinese implicitly allege that India is pressuring Colombo not to allow their research vessels into Sri Lankan waters.
The day after President Dissanayake returned from New Delhi, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Vice Chairwoman Qin Boyong met with him, discussed development cooperation and investment between China and Sri Lanka, and said China had plans to resume maritime research activities.
India, which believes that the Chinese research vessels are spy ships, says that their visit to Sri Lanka poses a threat to its security. India is not ready to accept that Sri Lanka acts against its position on this issue.
However, the research vessel issue will remain a sticking point for President Dissanayake, who is keen to maintain a balance in relations with the two Asian giants.
India could not object openly to the recent visit of a Chinese naval medical ship to Colombo. However, since China has announced plans to resume maritime exploration, the Sri Lankan Government needs to formulate a clear procedure to be followed regarding such vessels without antagonising powerful nations, including India and China.
Balancing China and India
Maintaining a non-hostile approach to China and India, which are competing for their economic and strategic interests in Sri Lanka, will undoubtedly be a long-term challenge for the Sri Lankan Government.
India and China have been making competing arguments to justify their interests in Sri Lanka.
To take India’s case, New Delhi considers neighbour Sri Lanka as being part of its sphere of influence and within its defence perimeter. India also sees Lanka as a natural ally with deep historical and contemporary cultural and religious links. New Delhi, therefore, demands a special relationship, which to it means Sri Lanka’s keeping at bay India’s rivals or any force inimical to it.
Further, India has been assiduously trying to bring Sri Lanka under its political, economic, and security umbrella through its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and maritime agreements.
Whenever natural disasters, armed insurgencies, or economic crises occur in Sri Lanka, India is the first country to rush to its aid, i.e. ‘First Responder’.
During the unprecedented economic crisis three years ago, India provided an emergency loan of $ 4 billion, when no other country, including China, was willing to lend a helping hand to Sri Lanka.
Despite criticism from some quarters that the Indian assistance was provided with the aim of safeguarding its interests in Sri Lanka, an overwhelming majority of Sri Lankan people remain grateful to India. However, in general, projects with Indian investment are not welcomed in Sri Lanka, like those of China. This has been a constant problem for India.
Sri Lankan leaders who express their agreement with India’s projects in New Delhi invariably change their positions upon returning to Colombo to deal with domestic opposition. They are forced to give different explanations in Colombo for the agreements reached in New Delhi regarding the projects they intend to advance with Indian assistance in Sri Lanka.
Since the JVP is a political party that followed Marxist principles, there is a widespread perception that the current Government has close ties with ‘communist’ China and that it will give more importance to China’s interests in Sri Lanka.
However, today, China is not a communist country. Despite being ruled by the Communist Party, China is the second largest capitalist economy after the US. At the same time, we should also note that the NPP Government is almost uninterested in displaying any Leftist identity today.
Diplomatic sources speculate that the Chinese Government may offer Sri Lanka more debt relief and investment opportunities during President Dissanayake’s visit to outmanoeuvre India. Dissanayake and his team are also expected to identify new development projects that can be implemented in Sri Lanka during the talks with Chinese leaders.
Walking a tightrope
Sri Lanka, which is trying to recover from the economic crisis, cannot afford to adopt an approach that could conflict with any leading nation of the international community. Adopting an approach that would ensure that Sri Lanka does not get caught up in the geopolitical competition between China and India is like walking a tightrope for President Dissanayake.
It is not only India and China; the US is also watching the activities of the NPP Government closely. The US is also interested in maintaining its strategic interests in Colombo. If there is one foreign diplomat who has met frequently with President Dissanayake and the leaders of the NPP Government in recent times, it is US Ambassador Julie Chung.
President Dissanayake, who faces a severe crisis in fulfilling the many promises he made to the people during the elections, has a huge responsibility to navigate the complex geopolitics with great caution. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Colombo)- Courtesy-The Sunday Morning
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