{"id":28617,"date":"2014-03-08T22:17:12","date_gmt":"2014-03-09T03:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28617"},"modified":"2014-03-08T22:23:55","modified_gmt":"2014-03-09T03:23:55","slug":"support-extended-by-china-enables-defiant-sri-lanka-to-resist-pressure-exerted-by-the-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=28617","title":{"rendered":"Support Extended by China Enables Defiant Sri Lanka to Resist Pressure Exerted by the USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

by<\/p>\n

Anusha Ondaatjie <\/strong><\/p>\n

Colombo:<\/strong> Sri Lanka\u2019s deepening economic ties with China offer it a cushion from any measures aimed at pressuring the South Asian country into cooperating with investigations into alleged crimes during its civil war.<\/p>\n

The US introduced a resolution this week calling on the United Nations to investigate Sri Lanka\u2019s past abuses and more recent attacks on human-rights advocates, Sarah Sewall, an undersecretary of state, said 4 March. Sri Lanka has denounced the measure, and received China\u2019s support last month when foreign minister G.L. Peiris visited Beijing.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cChina has been a strong supporter of Sri Lanka both politically and economically,\u201d said Bimanee Meepagala, an analyst at NDB Aviva Wealth Management Ltd in Colombo, the island\u2019s largest private fund. \u201cGiven China\u2019s backing, Sri Lanka\u2019s economic growth momentum won\u2019t be affected.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case shows China\u2019s increasing diplomatic impact abroad as it pursues influence and resources with investments across the globe, regardless of whether a country faces criticism for human-rights abuses. Chinese president Xi Jinping last year pledged financial aid in visits to South America and Africa shortly after taking office.<\/p>\n

China has an \u201call-weather partnership\u201d with Sri Lanka, it said in a statement last month during Peiris\u2019s visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that people in Sri Lanka have the wisdom and capacity to manage their internal affairs, and oppose some countries\u2019 interference in Sri Lanka\u2019s domestic affairs under the pretext of the human rights issue,\u201d China foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on 12 February. \u201cWe oppose politicizing and imposing double standards on the issue of human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nTrade increases<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since Sri Lanka\u2019s three-decade war ended in 2009 with an offensive that the UN says killed as many as 40,000 civilians, China has overtaken the US as the island\u2019s biggest trading partner.<\/p>\n

China accounted for 9.6% of Sri Lanka\u2019s total trade in 2012, up from 5.2% in 2008, a year before the conflict ended, according to the island\u2019s central bank. The US contribution to the country\u2019s trade dropped to 8.2% from 9.7% in that time.<\/p>\n

Chinese government lending to Sri Lanka increased 50-fold over the past decade to $490 million in 2012, according to Sri Lanka\u2019s external resources department, compared with $211 million combined from Western countries and lending agencies. Sri Lanka\u2019s first four-lane expressway, second international airport and a port in the southern Hambantota city are among projects financed by the Export-Import Bank of China.<\/p>\n


\nSanctions challenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa hailed the backing of China and Russia in a press briefing last week to denounce the UN proceedings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf any country wants to put sanctions, they can do it,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n

In a visit to Colombo on 1 February, State Department official Nisha Desai Biswal said the US wasn\u2019t considering sanctions \u201cat this point.\u201d The European Union, Sri Lanka\u2019s biggest export bloc, withdrew concessions on exports in 2010 because of the country\u2019s human rights record,<\/p>\n

Even so, the island\u2019s $59 billion economy, roughly the size of the US state of Delaware, grew at least 7.2% in 2013, compared with 6.4% a year earlier, Central Bank of Sri Lanka governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal said in January. Gross domestic product will expand 7.8% in 2014, and average 8.3% over the next three years, he said.<\/p>\n

A UN panel in April 2011 accused Sri Lanka\u2019s military and Tamil Tiger rebels of committing serious violations of international law in the final stages of the conflict. Sri Lanka denies the charges and says the calls for a probe amount to interference that will polarize the country.<\/p>\n

\u2018Substantial progress\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese initiatives disregard the substantial progress made by the government during the five years which have elapsed since the end of the 30-year war against terrorism,\u201d Peiris told the UN on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Although the US remains Sri Lanka\u2019s single biggest export market and largest holder of its sovereign bonds, closer ties with China provide the island more room to push back, according to said Dushni Weerakoon, deputy director at the Institute of Policy Studies in Colombo. Last month, the US Embassy in Colombo said Sri Lanka refused a visa for Catherine Russell, the US ambassador-at-large for global women\u2019s issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving China\u2019s increasing backing on credit, foreign direct investment, trade and tourism\u2014and playing such a major role in the economy\u2014puts Sri Lanka in a better position,\u201d Weerakoon said. \u201cThe US could try to scale back development assistance, but that is not significant.\u201d
\n
\nCOURTESY:Bloomberg <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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by Anusha Ondaatjie Colombo: Sri Lanka\u2019s deepening economic ties with China offer it a cushion from any measures aimed at pressuring the South Asian country into cooperating with investigations into alleged crimes during its civil war. The US introduced a resolution this week calling on the United Nations to investigate Sri Lanka\u2019s past abuses and …<\/p>\n

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