India has been countering the String of Pearls in the South-East Asian region as it builds comprehensive diplomatic partnerships with neighbours, such as Srilanka. Sri Lanka experienced its greatest economic crisis in seven decades earlier this year. 1/7
#SriLankaEconomicCrisis
#SriLankaEconomicCrisis
Its closest neighbour, India was the first to step in for aid and relief. Between January and July, India gave emergency assistance totalling roughly $4 billion. It deployed a warship with necessary drugs and medicines on board for the people in Srilanka. 2/7
A Colombo-based think tank stated that assistance from India helped Srilanka buy time in the crisis. Quoting the think tank, “Sri Lanka clearly benefited from being the closest neighbour to the most powerful country in the region.” 3/7
The scale of Indian funding to Srilanka this year is significantly more than that of others such as China and the Asian Bank Development. The decisions highlight New Delhi’s efforts to reclaim influence on the island. 4/7
China has been encircling regional nations such as Srilanka into the debt trap and the Hambantota port is a classic example of the scheme. As of now, Srilanka has a Chinese debt amounting to around $7 billion, which is 12% of its total external debt ($63 billion). 5/7
The current Srilankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has made hints that his leadership will likely guide Sri Lanka away from China’s debt trap diplomacy and toward deeper economic integration with India. 6/7
The optimistic paradigm shift in Indian foreign policy and outlook since 2014 as the diplomatic approach has turned more forward-looking and dynamic. 7/7
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