Sri Lanka, which located in the critical transit routes in the Indo-Pacific, is also the scene of a global power struggle due to the political-economic turmoil in the country. Last June, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa officially declared that the national economy had “completely collapsed” and desperately sought support from international financial institutions, especially from India and China, to pay off his debts. As a result of the mass protests triggered by the impact of the economic crisis in the country and the emergence of political corruption, both the head of state and the prime minister announced that he would resign.
In this context, Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies (ANKASAM) presents to your attention the views it received from Prof. Ashok Swain, the Head of the Department of Peace and Conflict Studies, to evaluate China’s possible role in Sri Lanka crisis.
1. Does China’s Belt and Road Project threaten the security of Sri Lanka and other regional states?
China’s BRI is not a threat to any country; instead, it allows the governments to take advantage of alternative international finance for infrastructure development. The problem is not with the Chinese money but the type of regime the borrowing country has and how it has successfully negotiated a better deal for the country.
2. How effective was China’s indebtedness to Sri Lanka in the country’s economic collapse?
China counter for 10-14% of Sri Lanka’s international debt. Thus to blame the debt repayment to China as the sole reason for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse is nothing but a simplistic and partisan view. Chinese loans contributed to some extent to the economic collapse of Sri Lanka, but the real reason for Sri Lanka’s economic collapse was due to a dictatorial majoritarian regime ruling Sri Lanka without any institutional checks and balances.
3. Can we say that China’s symbiotic ties with the Rajapaksa family in Sri Lanka triggered the public coup?
No, Sri Lanka’s majority Singhalese Buddhists prefer their country’s alliance with China because of their suspicion of India. They believe India sides with the country’s minority Tamils, and they don’t have that problem with China.
