India andSri Lanka signed a series of
aid, economic and diplomatic deals today, the latest move in an increasingly
intense struggle between New Delhi and Beijing for influence
over the island nation.
The signing took place on the first day of a visit by the
Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to Delhi, his first since winning his
presidential election in January and parliamentary poll in April. The deals
range from loans for major infrastructure projects to agreements to share
electricity and boost cultural exchanges.
Dubbed “the new Great Game”, the battle between China and Indiafor primacy in the Indian Ocean is set to be
one of the major themes of the coming decades, according to analysts. Sri Lanka’s
geographic position is its main draw.
“Chinawants to be the pre-eminent power in Asia and whether Asia ends up multipolar
or unipolar will be determined by what happens in the Indian
Ocean. Currently there is a power vacuum there and the Chinese
want to fill it,” said Brahma Chellaney, professor of strategic studies at Delhi’s Centre for Policy
Research.
Among the deals signed today was a £300m loan for the
construction of railways to be carried out by companies owned by India’s
Ministry of Railways. Most Indian assistance is focused on the northern parts
of Sri Lanka,
dominated by the country’s ethnic Tamil minority and devastated by years of
war.
Delhi also announced the
opening of consulates in the Tamil-dominated city of Jaffnaand, significantly, in the southern port city of Hambantota, where Chinese contractors are
building a vast deep water port in a project largely financed by the Chinese
government’s lending arm, the Export-Import bank. Indian strategists believe
the port, expected to be completed by 2020, is a key link in a chain of such
projects from Burma to Pakistan, the so-called “string of pearls”, which seek
to extend China’s maritime influence.
“China is
building up naval forces and is eager to secure safe bases and anchorage in theIndian ocean. But India’s position and coastline give
a tremendous operational advantage,” Chellaney said.
Though Sri Lankan ministers downplay the extent of Chinese
influence, few observers doubt that the Indians have lost ground to their
rivals in recent years.
Beijing has already embarked
on a major road-building programme in areas north of the Sri Lankan commercial
capital, Colombo,
and is helping with the construction of a new power station. A £140m loan to
build a second international airport in the south of the island, seen as
crucial to boost the tourist business, has also been agreed. In March, the Sri
Lankan government said Chinawas supplying more than half of all the construction and development loans it
was receiving.
Rajapaksa’s visit sparked protests by politicians and groups
representing India’s
Tamil ethnic community. Tens of millions of ethnic Tamils live in the southern
Indian state of Tamil Nadu, many of whom blame Rajapaksa for what human rights
groups have claimed were high levels of civilian casualties in the final days
of the civil war against the Tamil Tiger separatists last year.
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, did raise the
question of a political settlement granting Sri Lanka’s Tamils more autonomy,
Indian officials said, though Rajapaksa has previously made clear he is unlikely
to favour such a measure.
“India is
caught in a strategic quandary regarding Sri
Lanka,” said Iskander Rehman at Delhi’s Institute for Defence Studies and
Analysis. “Its sizeable Tamil population means that it feels a natural sense of
solidarity with the Tamil civilian population but it knows that if it
criticises the government too harshly it may risk losing even more strategic
space to the Chinese.”
Singh was also described as “reassured” after speaking to
the Sri Lankan premier about Colombo’s
efforts to rapidly resettle the tens of thousands of Tamils displaced by
fighting who continue to live in refugee camps.
The new Great Game in Asia
Bangladesh:
A recent thaw in relations and a trade deal has brought Dhaka closer to Delhi. But Beijing recently proposed a port and roads linking the
coast to China via Burma,
costing $9bn.
Burma: China is building roads and an oil and gas
pipeline from within Chinato the port they are constructing on the Bay of Bengal.
Pakistan:China is involved in a range
of multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects, from widening the Karakoram Highwayover the Himalayas to building a huge port at
Gwadar on the southern coast. Chinese engineers also run many crucial
irrigation works.
Nepal: A
recent Chinese offer to help Nepalupgrade roads and border posts along their mutual frontier has rattled Delhi. So have increasing
economic ties with Beijing.
Afghanistan:India has been funding
hospitals, roads and even building the new parliament building, all in a bid to
buy influence and, Delhihopes, a degree of popularity, to the tune of $1.4bn. Chinese businesses have
flooded Afghanistanwith cheap goods. A Chinese company has bought the rights to exploit the
enormous copper deposits at Aynak, in Logar province, for $3bn. – (The
Guardian, UK)
Indian Prime Mminister Manmohan Singh, left, shakes hands
with Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa the President’s Palace in New Delhi. Photograph:
Harish Tyagi/EPA
