Concerns over Sri Lanka turning a flashpoint between India and China

Colombo/Sri Lank – Large-scale military exercises conducted between India and Sri Lanka raised observers’ concerns about a future possible political conflict between India and China in Sri Lanka, and the escalation of Indian influence reducing China’s potential expansion in Sri Lanka.

Member of Parliament and Former Northern Province Chief Minister, Judge C.V. Wigneswaran, said that China is seeking to get closer to the northern areas of the country after its presence in the southern areas has faded due to the government’s negligence and lack of aid.

He emphasized that the rapprochement between Sri Lanka and India is directed by the two nations’ close and shared cultures.

India and Sri Lanka have conducted the ‘Mitra Shakti’ exercise with the participation of an all arms contingent of 120 Indian Army personnel for 12 days with a focus on enhancing counter-terror cooperation and exchanging experiences in the eastern district of  Ampara.

He also pointed out that the government could have avoided the geopolitical tension between two large countries, warning from the government’s support to one party against the other amid economic hardships.

“I understand that today China is going to give some trillion rupees as Aid and then India also has promised some Aid. So what happens is you play each against the other and try and get the maximum out of them, but finally, you are placed in a very embarrassing position as far as both areas concerned,” he added.

The 12-day Indian Army exercise was considered a new foreign policy outreach in the neighborhood foreign policy manifestation, according to advisor Srimal Fernando.

For Fernando, the historical close connection between India and Sri Lanka that dates back to the ‘Ramayan’ period culminates in the Indio-Sri Lanka military exercise.