The challenges for the Indian subcontinent have become more immense since the past 3–4 years of turmoil at the global level. The economic headwinds became unsustainable, and countries like Sri Lanka and Pakistan broke down. In an attempt to deal with that, Sri Lanka got support from India along with other lenders, and now it is ready to focus on its governance again. In that process, India is now getting Japan onboard, as both countries have mutual goals regarding the Indian Ocean and Indo-Pacific.
India and Japan join Sri Lanka
Reports suggest that India and Japan have agreed to jointly cooperate with Sri Lanka to enhance regional connectivity in the Indo-Pacific against China’s aggressive manoeuvring in the region. According to the Daily Mirror Lanka newspaper, the Indian High Commissioner, Gopal Baglay, stated that India and Japan have a broad range of shared interests in fostering a peaceful, progressive, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. During the event, Japanese envoy Mizukoshi Hideaki was also present.
Mr. Bagley further highlighted the significance of Sri Lanka as a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). He recommended the need for strong cooperation among India, Sri Lanka, and Japan to improve the welfare of people and provide advantages to all stakeholders.
Bagley also said that this should be in accordance with the priorities of Sri Lanka. This is an effective statement, as Sri Lanka is in the midst of the worst economic crisis, and talking about its priorities in the context of cooperation is akin to throwing benefits into the lap of Colombo.
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Sri Lanka asked for India’s help
Recently, Sri Lanka received $330 million as an initial installment of the bailout package from the IMF. As per President Wikramsinghe, this will help Sri Lanka achieve better ‘fiscal discipline’ and ‘improved governance.’
Talking about improved governance, it must be noted that Bharat Lal, the Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), headed a delegation from India that visited Sri Lanka on March 1. During their meeting with the Sri Lankan President, Ranil Wikramsinghe, they covered various subjects, including policy reforms, good governance, digitalization, capacity building, training, institution building, and ensuring the delivery of public services.
Ranil sought help from India to establish a University of Governance and Public Policy in Sri Lanka. He admired Indian socio-economic development management and the way India has steered the nation’s economy amid the global economic slowdown.
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Is Sri Lanka leaving China?
This certainly has some implications for making ties with India closer. However, it would be hard and far-fetched to say that Sri Lanka will distance itself from China, but one thing seems clear: at this point in time, Sri Lanka is looking towards India. After getting the first tranche of the bailout package, Sri Lanka’s envoy to India met Nirmala Sitaraman to thank India and bolster economic cooperation between the two countries.
It is worth considering that India was the first country that gave assurances to the IMF for bailing out Sri Lanka. China too gave assurance later, but it did not give assurance in accordance with the IMF conditions. So in that scenario, India emerged as a key provider that had also provided humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka earlier.
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Sri Lanka is second; Bangladesh is first
Addressing the event as the Japanese Envoy, Mizukoshi categorically targeted China for its extortion of Sri Lanka when he said that China’s unproductive efforts in the country, including the takeover of Hambantota Port for a 99-year lease, have come under sharp criticism.
Sri Lanka is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a long-term plan to fund and build infrastructure linking China to the rest of the world.
Speaking about this initiative in Sri Lanka, Mizukoshi said that cooperation in Sri Lanka was discussed by PM Kishida with PM Modi during his recent visit to India. It is significant to note that during the visit to India, Japan also announced connectivity to the Northeast through the Matarbari deep-sea port in Bangladesh.
The project gives an infrastructural boost to Bangladesh with connectivity to the north-eastern states of India. It will not only provide immense opportunities and access to the Northeast but also counter Chinese influence in Bangladesh. Currently, India has left no stone unturned in giving Dhaka an option against Chinese exploitative investments. Japan’s joining India in this effort will only improve conditions in the country.
The approach of Japan in the Indian Ocean region speaks volumes about its intention towards the Indo-Pacific, as safe ground in the Indian Ocean will eventually augment Chinese domination in the whole region. Interestingly, all these projects are centred around the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FIOP) policy, which was announced by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida during an event of the Indian Council for World Affairs (ICWA).
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Need to hold the initiative in the long run
For a long time, it was debated whether India needed to take action to curb Chinese mischievous acts in the region. As giving China a free pass in the Indian Ocean will only exacerbate the geopolitical equations for India, And if we closely analyse them, we find that the efforts in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are in line with the architecture of the Indian subcontinent. This clearly depicts that the move is targeted to press China’s nerve. Once the Indian Ocean becomes China-free, the Indo-Pacific aspirations of dragons will take the biggest hit.
So, this move by India and Japan is very significant. The only thing that is expected is to craft the policies in such a way that the whole effort doesn’t go to waste and the end goal is achieved. Sri Lanka has a long history of managing both antagonistic sides. Today it is desperate for India’s help, but it can change its stand once fiscal discipline is achieved.
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