{"id":78892,"date":"2022-08-07T00:54:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-07T04:54:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78892"},"modified":"2022-08-07T19:30:54","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T23:30:54","slug":"sri-lanka-engages-in-quiet-diplomacy-to-persuade-china-to-agree-to-its-request-to-defer-the-docking-of-the-chinese-vessel-yuan-wang-5-t-at-hambantota-port-this-week-chinese-embass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dbsjeyaraj.com\/dbsj\/?p=78892","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka engages in \u201cquiet diplomacy\u201d to persuade China to agree to its request to defer the docking of the Chinese vessel Yuan Wang 5 t at Hambantota Port this week; Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka requests urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amidst a potential diplomatic clash with far-reaching consequences, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is engaged in \u201cquiet diplomacy\u201d to persuade China to agree to its request to defer the docking of the Chinese vessel Yuan Wang 5 to dock at the Hambantota Port this week, diplomatic sources told The Morning, while the Chinese Embassy in Sri Lanka had requested an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities over the matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Quiet diplomacy involves efforts by one State to influence the behaviour of another through discreet negotiations or actions, and is being employed by the GoSL in an effort to ensure that it antagonises neither China, which is crucial to its hopes of obtaining an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout, nor India, which has virtually bankrolled Sri Lanka amidst an unprecedented economic crisis.<\/p>\n

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The Foreign Affairs Ministry\u2019s East Asia Division had initially given permission to the Chinese space and satellite-tracking research vessel Yuan Wang 5 to dock at Hambantota Port. However, Sri Lanka\u2019s Defense Ministry had denied the vessel\u2019s arrival to foreign media in July, even as India raised concerns about it. In the face of intense pressure from India, the GoSL had issued a \u201cthird-person note\u201d from Sri Lanka\u2019s Foreign Ministry to the Chinese embassy in Colombo dated 5 August, which requested that the arrival of the vessel be deferred until further consultations are made on the matter. Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong had met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe after the receipt of the note and expressed China\u2019s surprise at the sudden change of heart by Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

After India raised concerns about the vessel, China\u2019s Foreign Ministry had responded to media questions about these concerns by stating: \u201cChina hopes that the relevant parties will view and report on China\u2019s marine scientific research activities correctly, and refrain from interfering with normal and legitimate maritime activities.\u201d<\/p>\n

China plays an important role in Sri Lanka\u2019s economic recovery as the Government seeks a financing loan from the IMF, as the US-based fund said last week that Sri Lanka should kick off debt restructuring talks with its bilateral lender China. Moreover, Reuters reported last week that Sri Lanka has been in negotiations with China over several months for a $ 4 billion aid package.
\nOn the other hand, India has provided Sri Lanka with almost $ 4 billion in aid this year, as Sri Lanka grapples with its worst economic crisis since Independence. Top level Indian officials were in the country for a one day visit in June as well.<\/p>\n

Commenting on these tensions between the two Asian superpowers, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) posted on Twitter: \u201cWe do not take sides with regards to power struggles between other countries. But we have also consistently stated that China\u2019s military presence in the Indian ocean would give India a legitimate defence concern, and that Sri Lanka should not accentuate that by providing space for Chinese military presence in Sri Lanka.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Samagi Jana Balawegeya (SJB) MP Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday (7) stated on Twitter that Sri Lanka should maintain friendly relations with all 193 countries in the world based on the non-aligned foreign policy that the country has been traditionally maintaining.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the meantime, it is crucially important that it should also be guided by a deep understanding that India, China, and Japan remain particularly vital stakeholders in resolving the Sri Lanka economic crisis, and our dealings on matters concerning geopolitical sensitivities of those nations are handled with diplomatic due diligence, and a high degree of professional maturity,\u201d he added.
\nMeanwhile, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena last Saturday (6) thanked Indian PM Narendra Modi and the Indian people for the \u201cgenerous\u201d humanitarian assistance extended to the country.
\nTaking to Twitter, the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka said that the PM said this in response to a congratulatory letter that was given from PM Modi that the enduring ties of friendship flourished between the two countries.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia and Sri Lanka have flourished over the years into a mutually rewarding partnership across multiple spheres,\u201d it added.
\nIn his congratulatory letter, PM Modi assured Gunawardena of India\u2019s continued support to the island nation and expressed hope that Sri Lanka will witness a quick economic recovery, ensuring the prosperity and wellbeing of its people.<\/p>\n

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

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Amidst a potential diplomatic clash with far-reaching consequences, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is engaged in \u201cquiet diplomacy\u201d to persuade China to agree to its request to defer the docking of the Chinese vessel Yuan Wang 5 to dock at the Hambantota Port this week, diplomatic sources told The Morning, while the Chinese Embassy …<\/p>\n

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