Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to SL, B’ desh entails geopolitical significance

The picture shows the landmass reclaimed from the sea adjacent to the Colombo Port under the US $ 1.4 billion Chinese investment project (AFP)

During the pandemic, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Chinese President Xi Jinping had telephone conversations on a couple of occasions

The government is awaiting the Supreme Court’s determination on the Port City Commission Bill to be enacted by Parliament into law

President Rajapaksa is planning to proceed with his visit to Beijing at any time soon after the pandemic is brought under control

In one instance, India became unsettled after Sri Lanka reneged from a commitment under the previous government to develop the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port jointly with India. Next, Sri Lanka was miffed by India not supporting it at the UNHRC to thwart the adoption of the resolution.  China was a country that actively campaigned for Sri Lanka at the behest of the government

Chinese State Councillor and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe arrived in Sri Lanka for a brief visit recently. He is the second senior official from China to visit Sri Lanka since the outbreak of the pandemic after foreign policy chief Yang Jiechi who arrived last October. The timing of the latest visit is in a context significant both in local and regional perspectives. As for Sri Lanka under the present Government, it is another step, in its enhanced engagement with China for economic cooperation to revive its economy battered by the global pandemic situation. During the pandemic, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Chinese President Xi Jinping had telephone conversations on a couple of occasions.

The defence minister’s visit took place in a decisive moment of bilateral, economic relations. The government is awaiting the Supreme Court’s determination on the Port City Commission Bill to be enacted by Parliament into law to govern the affairs of the special economic zone on the landmass reclaimed from the sea adjacent to the Colombo Port under the US $ 1.4 billion Chinese investment project.  President Rajapaksa is planning to proceed with his visit to Beijing at any time soon after the pandemic is brought under control. 

Sino-Lanka ties entail   economic cooperation than   defence    cooperation.  Enhancement of defence cooperation featured during talks with the Sri Lankan leaders yesterday (May 5). 

The Chinese Minister held talks with President Rajapaksa on Wednesday morning. According to informed sources, the discussion focused on enhancing defence cooperation  in terms of high level exchanges and training. The Sri Lankan side was appreciative of what China did, particularly at the latest session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).    

Contextual significance of the visit is worthy of exploration. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), a four-nation group comprising the United States, India, Japan and Australia, is active in this region. It is an exercise widely believed by defence analysts as an exercise to counter China’s growing presence or influence in the region.  Sri Lanka has openly articulated that it will not be party to superpower rivalry. Likewise, Foreign Secretary Prof. Jayanath Colombage sounded skeptical about it at a seminar last year.  Sri Lanka has also said it will    refrain from doing anything with security concerns to India.  

The Quad is trying to lure Sri Lanka into its orbit. But, China will prefer Sri Lanka to stay in its ‘neutral position’ in the absolute sense. The purpose is achieved since President Rajapaksa categorially assured that Sri Lanka would not be an ally of any major power, as reported by China’s official Xinhua news agency.    As the Quad seeks cooperation with the countries in the Indo-pacific region, China also engages them.

Before arrival in Sri Lanka, the Chinese Defence Minister also   visited Dhaka, Bangladesh. According to the Bangladeshi media, the visit symbolised the ‘steady and rapid progress” in Bangladesh-China military cooperation in recent years’.

India will have its hackles up when the Chinese Minister includes both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in his itinerary.  The call of port by a Chinese submarine in 2014 alarmed India. It infuriated India so much so that bilateral relations with Sri Lanka soured. Later, Sri Lanka had to  assert that it would not do anything triggering security concerns to India.   

India is involved in a border dispute with China. Tension has increased in recent times between the two counties. As such India would have got incensed by the latest visit.    Indo-Lanka relations soured in recent times. In one instance, India became unsettled after Sri Lanka reneged from a commitment under the previous government to develop the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port jointly with India. Next, Sri Lanka was miffed by India not supporting it at the UNHRC to thwart the adoption of the resolution.  China was a country that actively campaigned for Sri Lanka at the behest of the government. The current rulers of Sri Lanka have enormous goodwill for China over it, and it reflected during talks on Wednesday.  Such goodwill will help foster ties further under the present government. 

Amidst the pandemic raging, China has ramped up efforts to engage the countries in the region 
As part of such fresh efforts in this direction, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi initiated a conference on COVID-19 response with his counterparts from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan on April 27, 2021. 

Minister Dinesh Gunawardane attended the event on behalf of Sri Lanka. A statement from the Foreign Ministry here said the conference focused on consolidating COVID-19 response cooperation and promoting post-pandemic economic recovery as well as poverty alleviation amidst the recent spike in COVID-19 infections.

 The counterparts from the countries who participated in the event are State Councilor Wang Yi (China), Mirwais Nab (Afghanistan), A.K Abdul Momen (Bangladesh), Pradeep Kumar Gyawali (Nepal) and Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi (Pakistan). 

Foreign relations are shaped by the circumstances. All these countries in South Asia are in dire need of Covid-19 –related assistance. China, as a country with a rebound of its economy after the early containment of the disease, is better positioned to tie up with these countries which badly need assistance, particularly vaccine cooperation.

Global vaccine supply chain has been unable to meet the demand. The worsening conditions of Covid-19 in India will exacerbate the situation. Therefore, the countries will have to depend on each other’s goodwill to secure adequate supplies of vaccines at this juncture.   Covid-19 diplomacy is well at work.  Three countries in South Asia- Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh- have approved Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine. Bangladesh is also ready for commercial purchases of the vaccine doses. Sri Lanka awaits emergency listing of the vaccine by the World Health Organization (WHO)    to approve it for rollout. 

Enough is proof that international or regional cooperation is determined and shaped by practical realities.