Chinese Defence Minister Gen.Chang Wanquan, a leading figure in the country’s defense apparatus, and a high profile delegation arrived in Sri Lanka for a hurriedly planned three day visit, earlier this week.
During the visit, the Chinese defence bigwig held crucial discussions with the top brass of the national unity government, including President Maithripala Sirisena.
The visit takes place against a backdrop where China has identified Sri Lanka as an important strategic partner in the light of the One Belt One Road economic programme, which has been greeted with mixed reactions in the South Asian region.
Sri Lanka is about to enter into a comprehensive partnership with China on the development of the Hambanthota harbour. From China’s point of view, the partnership is directly linked to the One Belt One Route project which aims to ensure China’s dominance in the maritime sector in this region.
The initial agreement was to give China 80% stake of the harbour for 99 years. This arrangement came under criticism from various groups in the political circles and the government is now in the process of re-negotiating the deal with China. This is why the timing of the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to Sri Lanka is crucial.
India’s concerns
Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanguan |
The Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to Sri Lanka is a prelude to his visit to Nepal, the nation, which serves as a buffer between traditional rivals India and China.
Wabquan is likely to discuss the OBOR initiative, the Maritime Silk Road, and military cooperation with Nepal, a country with which China is aiming to revive ties, much to the resentment of India.
Indian media says New Delhi has already deployed former General Ashok Mehata to discuss OBOR and the Maritime Silk Road with its neighbors. Gen. Meheta will probably initiate discussions with India’s neighbouring countries following the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to Nepal.
If Indian media reports are something to go by, the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to Sri Lanka, before his visit to Nepal, will give Gen. Mehata a reason to reach out to the Sri Lankan authorities.
Meanwhile, India’s apprehension on the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit came under criticism from the Chinese media which, to a great degree, echo the sentiments of the Chinese government.
China hits out at India over SL, Nepal
The Chinese state media article said New Delhi is always “unnerved” to see exchanges between Beijing and south Asian countries.
“China hopes India can understand the pursuit of China and regional countries for common development, and be part of it. However, New Delhi doesn’t share this thinking, instead seeking to balance China,” the article, written by Ai jun, said.
“If such tendencies in India continue, China will have to fight back, because its core interests will have been violated. This is not what we hope for, but the ball is in India’s court.
The tone of a report in the Hindustan Times sounds vigilant and sour. Claiming that Chang’s visit to Nepal and the first ever China-Nepal joint military drill has made New Delhi ‘nervous,’ the newspaper also noted that the Nepalese government ‘cannot afford to say no to Beijing’ as if China is carrying a stick around when interacting with its neighbours.”
“The truth is, however, it is India that has been treating south Asia and the Indian Ocean as its backyard with a hard-line manner. Its uneasiness toward Beijing’s growing influence in the region is obvious. For instance, New Delhi is one of the crucial reasons why China and Bhutan, which is controlled by India economically and diplomatically, have not yet established diplomatic relations.
“India’s vigilance against China has also affected Sri Lanka and Nepal’s relations with Beijing. Even if they are trying to balance between the two giant neighbours, New Delhi still regards their neutrality as a pro-Beijing policy.
Ai added, “Whenever a top leader from those countries visits China, the Indian media would hype that India is losing them or China’s emerging weight in south Asia will be New Delhi’s new threat.”
“New Delhi should stop being extremely sensitive toward each and every move between China and its neighbours. Sri Lanka and Nepal are actually looking forward to joint projects with China, given their poor infrastructure.”
“When an increasing number of Chinese companies get established in these countries, it is inevitable that Beijing will boost defence collaboration with them to protect not only China’s, but also the region’s interest.”
Indian Army Chief
Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat is expected to fly to Katmandu, immediately after the Chinese Defence Minister’s visit to the country.
The government of Nepal will confer an honorary military title to Rawat on March 29 at a special function for his “commendable military prowess and immeasurable contribution to fostering India’s long-standing and friendly ties with Nepal” and given the special military ties between Nepalese and Indian armies.
On the sidelines of the event, the Indian Army Chief is likely to hold discussions with the top echelons of Katmandu, including the President, the Prime Minister and the Defence Minister of India’s neighbouring state. It is against this backdrop that President Maithripala Sirisena left for Russia on an official visit in a bid to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries. President Sirisena will be the first Sri Lankan head of state to visit Russia in decades, although the two countries have maintained diplomatic relations for nearly 60 years.
During the visit, President Sirisena will hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 23.
The two leaders review the progress of longstanding bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia, including the way forward to further promote trade and investment.
Several bilateral agreements in the areas of fisheries, tourism, cultural and education cooperation, including cooperation in the science and technology sector, will be signed.
In order to actively promote trade and business linkages between the two countries, a Sri Lanka-Russia Business Forum will be held in Moscow, and Sri Lanka will be represented by a delegation of the Sri Lanka–Russia Business Council.
Russia’s game plan with SL
Russian President Vladimir Putin |
Russia’s invitation to President Sirisena is one of many strategic moves by Russia to increase its influence in the South Asian region – especially apparent with its new nexus with Pakistan.
Russia’s current foreign policy, needless to say, is a sharp shift from the policy it espoused while in the Soviet Union.
Animosity with the United States and its allies during the Cold War of 1947 – 1991, led the Soviet Union to side with India during the Indo-Pakistan divide, while Pakistan remained a close ally of the United States.
Russia was at this point was the largest arms supplier to India and it can be argued that it was Pakistan’s alliance with the United States that pushed the Soviet Union in India’s direction.
Even after the Cold War, right until 2010, Russia maintained close ties with India in areas such as defence and nuclear energy. As a result, Russia’s relations with Pakistan did not pick up and the two countries continued to view each other with mistrust.
However, over the past two years, Russia has adopted significant measures to change its legacy from the past and align itself in the South Asian region: Russia lifted its embargo on supplying arms to Pakistan in 2014 and has since signed an agreement on military technical cooperation.
Russia’s decision to engage with Pakistan could also be the outcome of India choosing to strengthen ties with the U.S. India’s defence cooperation programmes with the US is cause for Russian concern, doubly so as the U.S. has now replaced Russia as the leading arms supplier to India.
The U.S. military’s covert operation to kill Osama Bin Laden has also worked towards nudging Pakistan towards Russia: The US kept Pakistan in the dark about ‘Operation Neptune Spear’, implying that the terrorist group had the backing of Pakistan.
On September 29, 2016, a military confrontation between India and Pakistan began once again, with the Indian army conducting “surgical strikes” against militant launch pads across the Line of Control in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir.
This tension between India and Pakistan led to a fresh crisis in the region forcing Pakistan to cancel the 19th SAARC summit scheduled for Islamabad in November 15-16.
The Indo-Pakistan power struggle in the region and Russia’s newfound interests in Pakistan sets the geopolitical background for Russia’s invitation to the Sri Lankan President.
It can be inferred from this invitation, that Russia intends build strong ties with two of India’s neighbours – Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Hendawitharana in hot water
Lasantha Wickrematunge |
Former Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunga’s murder case made headlines on Tuesday with the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police informing the Mt. Lavinia Magistrate that a special unit, operated under former Army Intelligence Chief Maj. General Kapila Hendawitharana, carried out attacks on Wickrematunge.
The CID informed court that it had recorded a statement from the former Army Commander Field Marshal Fonseka on the killing of the late Sunday Leader Editor Lasantha Wickrematunge and the Field Marshal had told them that he had suspicions about a special unit operating under Hendawitharana to carry out certain attacks in the Colombo area.
Fonseka had also said he was not aware of the functioning of Hendawitharana’s unit.
According to the B report filed by the CID, Fonseka had said the security in the capital city of Colombo, at the time of the murder, was handled by former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa and former Army intelligence chief Hendawitharana.
Citing the latest findings in its probe on the Wickrematunge killing, CID Inspector Nishantha Silva said former Sunday Leader Editor Wickrematunge had died due to an assault on his head by an unidentified sharp instrument and not by shooting.
The CID Inspector said the inquiries carried out after exhuming Wickrematunge’s body proved that his brain had been damaged due to the attack. The inquiry was conducted by Colombo Chief Judicial Medical Officer (JMO) Dr. Ajith Tennakoon.
Silva also said the CID investigation team, when examining evidence of the murder of Lasantha Wickrematunge, had identified five phones that had been used by the attackers for their internal communication.
Investigations had revealed that the same phones had been used near Upali Tennakoon’s residence in Imbulgoda and in the vicinity of the Rivira Media Corporation to which both Upali Tennakoon and Keith Noyahr were attached.
According to the CID, four out of the five mobile phones had been purchased from the same location - a private business institution in Colombo 05.
This establishes the fact that the same group had carried out the attacks on Wickrematunge, Tennakoon and Noyahr within a period of six months.
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