{"id":36423,"date":"2014-12-21T01:32:16","date_gmt":"2014-12-21T06:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=36423"},"modified":"2014-12-21T01:33:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-21T06:33:13","slug":"sri-lankan-opposition-takes-anti-china-stand-in-crude-attempt-to-win-indian-support-dayan-jayatilleka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=36423","title":{"rendered":"“Lankan Opposition Takes Anti-China Stand in Crude Attempt to Win Indian Support”-Dayan Jayatilleka"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Meera Srinivasan<\/strong><\/p>\n

Amidst concern in India over the growing Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, the joint opposition platform here has begun questioning China\u2019s role in the island nation ahead of the January 8 presidential election.<\/p>\n

Earlier this week, leader of the United National Party (UNP) and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe pledged to scrap the $1.34-billion Chinese-funded Colombo Port City Project, citing threats to the environment, once the joint opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena comes to power.
\nBeijing\u2019s investments<\/p>\n

The port city \u2014 Sri Lanka\u2019s largest single foreign investment inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping in September \u2014 is being built alongside an existing Chinese-built container terminal, visible from Colombo\u2019s famous Galle Face green stretch. China, as per the agreement with Sri Lanka, will gain ownership of a third of the nearly 580 acres of reclaimed land where the port city is to come up.<\/p>\n

Recently, Champika Ranawaka \u2014 leader of the Jathika Hela Urumaya or National Heritage Party, a party predominantly of Buddhist clergy \u2014 had warned that Sri Lanka was heading towards bankruptcy due to heavy reliance on borrowing from other countries.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In an interview to a local daily, the former Minister said the cost of many of the Chinese-funded projects in Sri Lanka, including the expressway connecting Colombo city to the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, was overestimated. Critiquing President Rajapaksa\u2019s development projects, he said: \u201cThe south of the country will be given away to China and the North to India.\u201d
\nIndia vis-a-vis China<\/p>\n

On Friday, Mr. Sirisena in his election manifesto said his government would maintain equal relations with India and China, as if to allay fears over Sri Lanka\u2019s apparent tilt towards China.<\/p>\n

On the joint opposition upping its anti-China rhetoric ahead of polls, foreign policy commentator and former diplomat Dayan Jayatilleka said it was a \u201ccrude attempt\u201d to secure New Delhi\u2019s support.<\/p>\n

It was, he said, with a utilitarian purpose of \u201cseeing whether the decision-making circle in New Delhi, equidistant as it is at the moment, would tilt in favour of the joint opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Irrespective of the party in power, Sri Lanka has historically had good relations with China, recognising the need to have support from a big power, Mr. Jayatilleka said, with a few exceptions on the part of the UNP. The current idea, however, may backfire for the joint opposition, he said, if sections of voters fear that the dramatically large projects may be halted. \u201cVoters may regard China as the patron of the ruling family,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Explaining his leader\u2019s comments, UNP spokesman on economic affairs Harsha de Silva said the party had nothing against China, but was critical of the lack of transparency in how the projects were carried out along with \u201cthose close to the regime\u201d.<\/p>\n

Pointing to findings stated in Mr. Ranawaka\u2019s recent publication on the Sri Lankan economy, Mr. De Silva said a benchmark of $600,000 was set as the cost of constructing a kilometre of railway line in the country.<\/p>\n

Tilt toward India?<\/strong><\/p>\n

While India\u2019s IRCON was executing it in the island\u2019s north at a cost of $2.5 million per km \u201cwith additional features\u201d, a Chinese firm was constructing railway lines in the south at a cost of $10.5 million, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn all these mega deals, the loans come from a Chinese bank. The question we are asking is, can such huge costs be justified?\u201d UNP parliamentarian asked.<\/p>\n

The joint platform, he said, was for a strong economic bond with India to leverage its huge market. Given the geographic proximity to India, \u201cSri Lanka should become the gateway to India,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

Courtesy:The Hindu<\/em><\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Meera Srinivasan Amidst concern in India over the growing Chinese presence in Sri Lanka, the joint opposition platform here has begun questioning China\u2019s role in the island nation ahead of the January 8 presidential election. Earlier this week, leader of the United National Party (UNP) and former Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe pledged to scrap …<\/p>\n

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