TOKYO -- The island nation of Sri Lanka is famous for tea. But its greatest asset may be its geographical location, just to the south of India and in the center of the sea lane connecting Asia and the Middle East for maritime trade.March 30, 2015 7:00 pm JST
Sri Lanka shock
China's 'string of pearls' gets looser
HIROYUKI AKITA, Nikkei senior staff writer
Maithripala Sirisena, winner of Sri Lanka's presidential election© AP
China is certainly aware of Sri Lanka's perfect position. It is understandably concerned about the recent rebellious talk from a nation that until last year was cozy with Beijing.
With the support of a Chinese company, Sri Lanka was able to proceed with an ambitious $1.5 billion plan to build a new port city on reclaimed land offshore of Colombo.
This is a signature project as far as China is concerned. Work began at the site last September, and eventually it will have commercial and sports facilities, and residential housing.
Sri Lanka's new government suddenly slammed on the brakes in early March, ordering the Chinese company to suspend ongoing work at the site.
The reason given was a lack of transparency in the contract. The Sri Lankan government said it would conduct a review and then decide whether to permit the work to continue. China's foreign ministry responded by saying it hoped that Sri Lanka would "appropriately resolve the relevant issue."
Big promises, bigger money
Why did Sri Lanka took this step, knowing it would offend China?
The answer to the $1.5 billion question lies in the change of government that took place in January. In that month's presidential election, the deeply pro-China administration of Mahinda Rajapaksa was replaced by the new administration of Maithripala Sirisena.
Rajapaksa's administration improved Sri Lanka's infrastructure with the help of massive investment from China. Sirisena, however, won the election by criticizing the corruption that accompanied those investments.
People therefore expected the new administration to adjust Sri Lanka's lock-step course with China. The decision to take the knife to such a feature project, however, took everyone by surprise.
China's concerns about its relations with Sri Lanka do not end there. In February, Sri Lanka's new Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that Chinese submarines would no longer be permitted to dock at the island nation's ports.
If Sri Lanka upholds the ban, it will impact the China's submarine activity. "China wants to operate its submarines not only in the South China Sea but also in the Indian Ocean," explained a Japanese official involved in national defense, "and for that Sri Lanka is an important port of call." The official said he is watching closely to see what Sri Lanka does next.
China has helped build ports and logistics bases in nations around India, including Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This strategy has been dubbed China's "string of pearls."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Sri Lankan President Sirisena met on March 13 in Colombo. © Reuters
Oceans from Asia to the Middle East are under the de facto control of the U.S. Navy. The string of pearls strategy hints that China wants to secure its own sea lanes so it can safely ship resources such as oil, food and minerals to the mainland.
But Sri Lanka is in the center of this string, and the strategy could falter if this pearl were to break free.
Modi joins the fray
India, long suspicious of China's intentions, was quick to move into the gap.
In mid-March, Narendra Modi made the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Sri Lanka in 28 years. He called for closer ties while there. That is a change from the strained bilateral relations that have characterized regional politics since the Tamil Tigers emerged.
That said, China remains an important economic partner for Sri Lanka and it is hard to imagine the island nation suddenly making an about-face toward India.
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