{"id":44474,"date":"2015-12-16T00:29:49","date_gmt":"2015-12-16T04:29:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=44474"},"modified":"2015-12-16T00:29:49","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T04:29:49","slug":"china-adopts-carrot-and-stick-aproach-towards-sri-lanka-to-ensure-resumption-controversial-colombo-port-city-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=44474","title":{"rendered":"China Adopts Carrot and Stick Aproach Towards Sri Lanka to Ensure Resumption Controversial Colombo Port City Project"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/p>\n

Upul Joseph Fernando<\/strong><\/p>\n

When President Maithripala Sirisena was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly sessions, United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited him. When Kerry sought his leave after a lengthy discussion, Maithri asked him a pertinent question: “How are you going to balance China and India?” asked Maithri. The Sri Lankan Leader stressed that Chinese support was needed to strengthen his economy. Kerry advised to balance India and get assistance from China adding that America was not opposed to Colombo getting Chinese aid.<\/p>\n

Now the Maithri Government has given the green light to proceed with the once controversial Colombo Port City Project funded by China. When the project was suspended, China viewed it as a slap on her face. China lamented that it was her President who laid the foundation stone for the project and no project started in that manner by the Chinese President had been halted or cancelled.<\/p>\n

Though India has not raised objections to the resumption of the Chinese funded Colombo Port City Project, the fears over the project are not allayed. India is aware that the policies of the Maithri Government are not harmful as those of the Rajapaksa Government.However, it yet has fears as to what a future Sri Lankan Government in the next two to three decades would do regarding the Chinese Port City Project if those governments decide to amend the project posing a security danger to Indian interests in the region.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

A carrot and stick approach<\/strong><\/p>\n

China spent colossal sums of money to gain approval for the project in Colombo, while educating the Sri Lankan masses on the viability of the project. They adopted a carrot and stick approach to ensure the resumption of the project. The following statements by the Chinese Ambassador in Colombo and the Head of the Foreign Affairs Division in Yuan Province amply demonstrate that stand. The Chinese Ambassador said: “Sri Lanka being located in the middle of the Indian Ocean did not mean there was any special investment advantage. There were other coastal countries in the region having same advantages as Sri Lanka. Still China attached a little more importance on China-Sri Lanka cooperation, stressed Yi Xianliang (Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka) on 20 November in Colombo”.<\/p>\n

The Head of Foreign Affairs in Yuan Province stated;<\/p>\n

“Sri Lanka should harness its full potential of being strategically located on the Silk Route, which connects it ideally to both East and West markets, the People’s Government of Yunnan Province Foreign Affairs Office Chief Counsel Jin Cheng said. He said, the Silk Route would not have been successful without Sri Lanka. “We envy Sri Lanka for its location. We do not have the sea and that strategic location. Thus, Sri Lanka must explore its full potential of its strategic geographical advantage,” Cheng told a group of visiting Sri Lankan journalists in China. With Yunnan serving as China’s gateway to South-east and South Asian countries, he said that they wished to enhance bilateral trade with Sri Lanka. Commenting on the trade between Yunnan Province and Sri Lanka, Cheng said,it had increased steadily during the past three years. Further clarifying his point, he asserted that during the last year, trade between Yunnan Province and Sri Lanka accounted to $1 million compared to three years ago where there was no trade taking place.<\/p>\n

“We have already established relations with Sri Lanka at different levels with the Commerce Ministry, Foreign Ministry and also at corporate levels,” he noted. Cheng asserted that there was huge potential for business and trade in Yunnan Province, adding that they looked forward to economic cooperation in the near future. He said a Sri Lankan company had come forward to set up a business in Yunnan Province already. “There are many good openings for Sri Lankan companies in the areas of hotel trade and petroleum. With the number of tourist arrivals increasing at a significant pace, there are promising opportunities in hotel and restaurants business.”<\/p>\n

However, he pointed that most Sri Lankan companies were yet to tap into the potential business climate in Yunnan Province. “We hope that with the developments taking place in the Yunnan Province economically and one Sri Lankan company setting up a venture here, it will create more interest and awareness of the potential business opportunities,” Cheng added.<\/p>\n

He further noted that Yunnan Province was working on an agriculture programme with Sri Lanka.
\nIn addition to bilateral trade he said, Sri Lanka was very important for them in the area of cultural exchange, especially in terms of Buddhism. Yunnan has trade ties with many countries and regions, where major exports include chemical products, non-ferrous metals, cigarettes, tea, machinery, light industry products and medicines. In 2014, GDP of the province amounted to RMB 1,281, 459 billion yuan, while the foreign trade volume reached $29.622 billion, an increase of 17.1%.’<\/p>\n

Chinese interests in Sri Lanka<\/strong><\/p>\n

Evaluating and considering the efforts of China to offer scholarships to journalists and politicians in Sri Lanka from the day Maithri assumed office and the extent of publicity executed towards Chinese interests in Sri Lanka, China seems to have gained success in the effort to look after her interests. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe pledged to cancel the Chinese Port City Project during the 2015 presidential election campaign if elected to power. There are similarities between the Chinese Port City Project and the Voice of America Project. Voice of America was started at Iranawila following an agreement in 1983. There was public protest against that project pioneered by the Catholic Bishop of Chilaw. The then Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) Opposition backed by other leftist parties supported that protest. Voice of America was a major slogan at the 1994 general election. Those were backed by the SLFP. The United National Party (UNP) Government was forced to open fire to quell those protests. The five star hotel project earmarked with Voice of America was stopped.<\/p>\n

These sensitive projects were a major reason to sign the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord. India opposed those American projects as then Indian Premier Indira Gandhi was a critic of America. When the SLFP Government assumed office in 1994, everyone thought that these US backed projects would be cancelled. Though the Government held talks towards that goal, America threatened to cut off aid. Hence, the Chandrika government allowed the continuation of those projects. By then, relations between New Delhi and Washington had improved towards a positive direction and India did not oppose the continuation of American projects. The UNP had the last laugh on the SLFP when those projects were completed. Similarly, the then Rajapaksa Government is viewing the Chinese Port City Project to have a scoff at the UNP Government.<\/p>\n

Courtesy:Ceylon Today<\/em><\/p>\n

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

By Upul Joseph Fernando When President Maithripala Sirisena was in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly sessions, United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, visited him. When Kerry sought his leave after a lengthy discussion, Maithri asked him a pertinent question: “How are you going to balance China and India?” asked Maithri. …<\/p>\n

Continue reading ‘China Adopts Carrot and Stick Aproach Towards Sri Lanka to Ensure Resumption Controversial Colombo Port City Project’ »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44475,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44474\/revisions\/44475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}