Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Sri Lanka (May 11, 12) was an attempt to further cement New Delhi’s political, economic and strategic ties with the Colombo government.
Modi was invited by President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as the chief guest to inaugurate the UN Vesak Ceremony, the main Buddhist festival in the island nation. During his visit no agreement was signed between the two countries and no joint statement was issued. However, his tour was significant, in the context that India and the US have expressed concerns about the Colombo government’s economic ties with Beijing.
Press Trust of India noted in its report that Modi’s visit was “mainly aimed at reinforcing the traditional connect between India and Sri Lanka at a time when China is seeking to make inroads in the island nation.”
In his keynote speech in Colombo, Modi spoke about thousands of years of India-Sri Lanka relations through Buddhism, and said India is “at a moment of great opportunity in our ties with Sri Lanka—an opportunity to achieve a ‘quantum jump’ in our partnership across different fields.” He added: “Whether it is on land or in the waters of the Indian Ocean, the security of our societies is indivisible.”
.
When Sirisena won the presidential election in 2015, Modi became the first Indian prime minister to make a trip to Sri Lanka in 28 years. Now he has visited for the second time in two years. Meanwhile, Sirisena has travelled to India twice and Wickremesinghe three times.
In recent months, the Indian government has expressed concerns over two developments in Sri Lanka. One is that the cash-strapped Colombo government, facing a balance of payments and debt crisis, has turned to Chinese investments and loans, and sought to resume suspended Chinese projects, including the Colombo Port City Project. It is also seeking to run Hambantota Port as a joint venture with a Chinese company in order to raise money to pay back China’s loan to build the port.
During Rajapakse’s regime, New Delhi as also Washington opposed both projects, saying China was building them as part of an Indian Ocean strategic network.
India’s other concern is Sri Lanka’s repeated postponement of economic pacts between the two countries, including an Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement (ETCA).
In his speech, Modi said: “We believe that the free flow of trade, investments, technology, and ideas across our borders will be to our mutual benefit. India’s rapid growth can bring dividends for the entire region, especially in Sri Lanka.” India has extended $US2.6 billion in “development” aid to Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan government and sections of big business support the ETCA. However, Rajapakse and his group of MPs oppose the pact seeking to stir communalism and exploit popular discontent with the government. Rajapaksa has threatened to topple the government and his group is making virulent anti-Tamil and anti-Indian propaganda.
Wickremesinghe went to Delhi in April, just two weeks before Modi’s tour. When Wickremesinghe met Modi during that visit, the two governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding on “Cooperation in Economic Projects.” The discussions also covered a proposal to develop an oil storage tank farm in the port of Trincomalee.
Reuters reported that on Thursday, as the Indian prime minister landed in Sri Lanka, two senior officials said the Colombo government had rejected China’s request to dock one of its submarines in Colombo this month. In October 2014, when a Chinese submarine docked in Colombo, New Delhi protested to Rajapaksa.
Modi had an unscheduled meeting with Rajapaksa at the latter’s request, even though some prominent members of Rajapaksa’s group had threatened to hoist black flags in opposition to Modi’s visit.
Rajapaksa was accompanied by his government’s defence secretary and brother, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, and G. L. Peiris, his former foreign minister, for the talks. Peiris told the media that no “information can be divulged” about what they discussed at the hour-long meeting. The Indian officials also did not say anything on the meeting.
It is possible that Rajaaksa has appealed for India’s support in the event he comes to power. When Donald Trump won the US presidential election, Rajapakse immediately greeted him and praised his nationalist policies.
During his visit, Modi addressed a meeting of plantation workers organised by the estate trade unions. He opened a new hospital funded by his government and promised 10,000 houses for plantation workers.