Chinese presence in Tamil & Muslim majority areas sparks concern

In the recent past, the officials of the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka have increased visits to the Northern and Eastern Provinces where the majority population is Tamils and Muslims, sparking concerns among these communities.

In early January, a high level delegation led by the Chinese Embassy’s Chargé d’affaires Hu Wei was in the Northern Province taking part in various events such as handing out dry rations, stationery assistance for schools and setting up safe drinking water plants in remote villages across the region. Earlier almost all such initiatives were carried out in different regions of the province by India through its Consulate General’s office located in Jaffna.  

Dry ration packages worth Rs 6,230 were distributed to disadvantaged families but they got caught in a misinformation campaign when it came to Chinese produced rice. Some reported food poisoning and ill health on social media after consuming it. This has led to concerns among the people in the region and made them question the quality of the dry rations they have received.

The next day, addressing another event of handing out relief items, Chargé d’affaires Wei said that the distributed rice is ‘sticky rice’– which is commonly prepared in rice cookers at modest heat whereas Northerners are used to red Naadu and local traditional rice varieties which require boiling for about an hour.

The distribution of the donation by the People’s Republic of China, was implemented by the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society.
As part of their engagements, the Chinese delegation also met with selected local civil society representatives and media personnel for dinner at a leading hotel in Jaffna.

One of them was making the point as to why, despite carrying out all these initiatives in the recent past, securing grass root level support for Chinese projects and investments in the North were becoming increasingly difficult.

He asked why the embassy was not meeting with elected representatives–the leaders of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which would give some legitimacy to be closer to Northerners.

The embassy official responded by saying that they had made a request for a meeting with the TNA leadership three times in the recent past, but they were yet to receive a response.

In December 2021, outgoing Chinese Ambassador Qi Zhenhong undertook a visit to the Northern Province sparking concern and considerable commentary on what is widely seen as a heightened geopolitical contest between India and China.

Chinese Ambassador Qi, who assumed charge in Colombo a year ago, went to the Northern Province for three days from December 15 to 17.  While he held meetings with top government officials, including the Governor of the Province, Fisheries Minister, and the Mayor of Jaffna, it was his visit to key sites that drew much local media attention over the week.   

Ambassador Qi started his visit from the Jaffna Public Library. on the early morning of 16 December, Ambassador Qi and Fisheries Minister Douglas Devananda inspected the Guilan Sea Cucumber Hatchery and Farm at east Ariyalai, Jaffna. Ambassador Qi paid homage to the historic Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil at the centre of Jaffna on the same day. He also led a team of officials and reporters from Sri Lanka and China for a study tour to the New Silkroad Foodstuff factory at Thoddaveli, Mannar on 17 December. 

Meanwhile, China has gifted Rs. 5 Billion worth of school uniform material to millions of Sri Lankan students to meet 70% of the whole country's requirement in 2023.

The Chinese Embassy in Colombo said that the 1st batch of 3 million meters of finished material in 38,000 boxes was shipped to Sri Lanka in 20 containers from China.

Altogether 30,12,596.5 meters of material, about 10 times the distance from Colombo to Jaffna will be donated to Sri Lanka, said the Chinese Embassy.

At the request of President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Chinese Government has also donated 10.06 million liters of diesel after considering the economic difficulties faced by the people engaged in the agricultural and fishing sectors.

Accordingly, 6.98 million liters of diesel was given for agricultural activities and the rest of the fuel would be utilized for fishing activities.

Minister of Agriculture Mahinda Amaraweera instructed the officials to provide fuel free of charge at the time of harvesting, since the farmers had already finished their cultivation by the time the fuel stock was received.

Commissioner General of Agrarian Development A. H. M. L. Aberathne said fuel will be distributed from Sunday since some farmers will commence harvesting by the end of January.

This stock of fuel is planned to be given to each farmer through a special voucher online and the official issuance of the voucher will be done today (09) at 11.00 am at the Ministry of Agriculture by Minister Mahinda Amaraweera.

Under this programme, steps have been taken to provide free fuel to the farmers who cultivate paddy from half an acre to two hectares.

Earlier, the Tamil Nadu has also flagged serious security concerns over the increased presence of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China in Sri Lanka. 

An alert issued by the State’s intelligence agency said the activities of the Chinese in the neighbouring country is a concern to national security and called for intensified vigil along the coastline.

The movement of PLA cadres and deployment of hi-tech gadgets such as satellites, drones and other communication equipment in northern Sri Lanka required constant surveillance in coastal districts, the advisory sent to all cities/districts in the State said. Citing sources, the alert claimed that the PLA deployed sophisticated gadgets in the garb of launching sea cucumber farming.

The security advisory comes days after an alert was issued by the same agency warning that a handful of Chinese nationals had clandestinely entered India via the sea route with the assistance of cadres belonging to a Sri Lanka-based political party.

The Tamil Nadu Coastal Security Group had also, citing a Central intelligence agency, issued an alert on the Chinese ship used to monitor satellites, rockets and inter-continental missile launches of China docked at Hambantota Port, and called for adequate security arrangements in view of vital installations such as nuclear establishments and seaports along the Tamil Nadu coast.

The free movement of Chinese nationals in many parts of northern Sri Lanka, including Mullaitheevu, Paruthitheevu, Analaitheevu, Meesalai, and Chavakkacheri, had triggered discontentment among Tamil fishermen. They had expressed the apprehension that the Chinese were exploiting the rich sea wealth, which is their only source of livelihood.

The fear of the local Tamils was that the prevailing situation might lead to a division among Sri Lankan nationals and curtail the influence of India on Tamils living in the northern and eastern parts of the island nation, the alert said.