India’s ties with Colombo are casting a shadow on the visit of Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe, who arrived in the Chinese capital on Wednesday to reboot a longstanding relationship with Beijing.
Within hours of Mr. Wickremasinghe’s arrival, the state-run Global Times ran an op-ed article that focused on India as a factor in the Beijing-Colombo ties. Analysts say that the $1.4 billion Colombo Port City Project in Colombo, which has faced protests at home, has become a litmus test for Colombo’s ability to balance ties between the two Asian powerhouse neighbours.
The article addressed concerns regarding the mega project that is being undertaken by China’s CHEC Port City Colombo (Pvt.) Ltd., alleging that apart from Sri Lanka’s partisan politics, “pressure from India has [played] a crucial role in suspending the project”.
It said: “New Delhi is often biased when viewing Chinese investment in South Asia. New Delhi’s anxiety stems from its suspicion that China is making an attempt to contain India. Despite the fact that neither Beijing’s investment to Sri Lanka, nor the latter’s economic development will do any harm to India, New Delhi is still obsessed with the idea that China might create a military encirclement around India”.
