21 hours Ago By Thilina Walpola
Indian Prime Minister Narndra Modi’s three-day visit here was predictably heralded by a blaze of publicity in the local press and electronic media. This was no cause for surprise given that good relations with our giant neighbour, or Big Brother as some would prefer to style it, must remain the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy. New Delhi accurately judged in which direction the political winds were blowing well ahead of last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections and invited the soon to be President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to visit India where he was well received.
Weeks after being elected president, and scoring a better than two thirds majority in the parliamentary election that followed shortly thereafter, Dissanayake paid a state visit to India, his very first after being elected and was very warmly welcomed. Prime Minister Modi is now here on a reciprocal visit and has a crowded agenda including a visit to Anuradhapura where he will pay homage to the sacred Jaya Sri Maha Bodhiya, grown from a sapling of the bo tree in India under which the Buddha attained enlightenment; and formally inaugurate the Maho-Anuradhapura railway signaling system and the newly upgraded Maho-Omanthai railway line, both assisted by India. Several memorandums of understanding, including possibly a Defence Co-operation Agreement, kept under wraps at the time of writing this comment, are due to be exchanged.
Official word on the subject is that matters to be covered in the MOUs include energy, digitization, security and healthcare along with agreements relating to India’s debt restructuring assistance. But no details have been forthcoming. Additionally, the visiting prime minister and his delegation who will have bilateral discussions with Sri Lanka’s president is also due to virtually inaugurate several India assisted projects.
These include the Sampur solar power plant, the 5,000 mt temperature and humidity controlled cold storage facility in Dambulla and the installation of 5,000 solar panels across 5,000 religious sites here. Sri Lanka cannot forget the massive assistance provided by India in 2022 when this country faced the worst economic crisis in its contemporary history. At that time India provided multi-pronged assistance, including a $4 billion financing package through multiple credit lines and currency support, to help this country sustain essential imports and avoid defaulting on its debts.
Sri Lanka is undoubtedly benefiting from great power rivalry between India and China in the Indian Ocean where India seeks advantages through its Neighbourhood First policy while China seeks leverage through its Belt and Road initiative. The fact that the new Sri Lanka president chose to make his first state visit to India and thereafter follow with a visit to China may be an indication of priorities in Colombo. There is no escaping the reality that all countries must, where foreign relations are concerned, place their own national interest above all other considerations.
This is so be it for Sri Lanka, India, China or any other country. Thus while not looking gift horses in the mouth, we must always be conscious that there is no such thing as a free lunch and be protective of our own interests. Relations between Sri Lanka and India saw both high and low points during this century.
The low was during the civil war Sri Lanka waged against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the earlier stages of which India allowed the insurgents to train and base on Indian territory. India, in fact, provided them with weapons and military training and other assistance through its RAW (Research and Analysis Wing). state intelligence agency.
It may be argued that the communal disharmony between the Sinhalese and the Tamils that escalated into civil war was a problem of Sri Lanka’s own making and sub-regional sentiment in Tamil Nadu greatly influenced New Delhi’s hand in intervening. Relations thereby plummeted and were restored to a point by the signing the Indo- Sri Lanka Peace Accord between President J.R.
Jayewardene and Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in July 1987. With two insurrections raging in the north and south of the country, Jayewardene had no option but seek Indian assistance on India’s terms. What followed including Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, as he campaigned for re-election as India’s prime minister is contemporary history that requires no elaboration.
But since then, in the post 2022 situation when Sri Lanka faced an unprecedented economic crisis and was forced to declare bankruptcy, India came to our rescue with massive assistance and relations between the two countries have never been better. At this point of time when Sri Lanka is headed in a new political direction under new leadership, will it be possible for the greatest irritant in present Indo-Lanka relations – bottom trawling by Indian fishermen poaching in Sri Lanka waters and destroying the marine environment – to be conclusively resolved? India has always adopted the position that this issue must be resolved in what she calls a “humanitarian manner.” It is undoubtedly a livelihood issue for fishermen – on both sides.
Indian fishermen enjoyed free rein on the Sri Lanka side of the International Maritime Boundary during the war when Lankan fishermen were prohibited from going into deep sea. The Indians claim fishing in our waters to be their “traditional right.” Prime Minister Modi’s party attempted to win votes in Tamil Nadu during the last election by accusing the Congress of “ceding” Kachchativu to Sri Lanka.
The right on this issue is on our side while the might is on India’s. In the midst of honeyed words that will be much of the picture during until Sunday when the visit ends, result in might conceding to right? Even at least as far as stopping bottom trawling, illegal on our side though not in India’s goes?.
