The Island Editorial

Sailing between Scylla & Charybdis

13 May 2017

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi may not have come all the way here just to switch on Vesak illuminations or open a hospital. The main purpose of his visit was to convey a message, which was loud and clear, we reckon. He declared that whether it was on land or in the waters of the Indian Ocean, the security of India and Sri Lanka was indivisible. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government may claim that what is reflected in Modi’s message is India’s concern about Sri Lanka’s security. But, what Modi has told Sri Lanka may be paraphrased thus: ‘Be mindful of India’s security whatever you do on your soil or in the Indian Ocean.’ Viewed against India’s growing concern about the increasing Chinese presence here, Modi’s declaration may even be considered a warning of sorts.

PM Modi tried to sound very generous when he said India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka amounted to USD 2.6 billion and ‘its only aim is to support Sri Lanka in realising a peaceful, prosperous and secure future for its people’. Only the naïve among us will believe that India is acting out of altruism to help her southern neighbour. Interestingly, no sooner had Modi uttered the aforesaid words than Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe flew to China to take part in the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation.

The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government is obviously desperate for funds. All it receives from its international allies is moral support as well as some recognition and not the much-needed money. Therefore, the yahapalana government has been left with no alternative but to swallow its pride and grovel before China, seeking loans and investment. India has not taken kindly to China’s ambitious One Belt One Road initiative. China’s soft power project on such a scale is a worrisome proposition for India, which naturally feels concerned about Sri Lanka’s increasing dependence on China for loans and investment.

The Indian PM has said his ‘conversations’ with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have reinforced India's will to join hands in achieving their common goals. He has, however, not revealed what was discussed. President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe have also insisted that PM Modi’s visit had nothing to do with anything political or economic. We can’t expect them to tell us the whole truth, can we?

President Sirisena has hauled the government doctors over the coals for resorting to strikes and causing immense suffering to the sick, especially during the Vesak season. The Buddha has extolled the virtues of looking after the sick. Similarly, the Compassionate One has urged his lay followers to observe the Five Precepts. The President and the Prime Minister have categorically denied that they are planning to hand over the Trincomalee oil tank farm to India. Whether they have violated, during the Vesak season, the Fourth Precept, which forbids lying, will be seen sooner or later.

The government leaders have resorted to prevarication and obfuscation as regards the alleged moves to let India gain control over strategically important national assets of this country. Petroleum workers who recently launched a crippling strike against the handing over of oil tanks to India subsequently called off their trade union action following a powwow with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe; they claimed the PM had assured them that the government would not strike any such deal with India. But, the MoUs the governments of Sri Lanka and India signed in New Delhi one day later ran counter to that pledge.

Good diplomacy is all about the right balance. Dividing a country’s strategically important assets among world powers in a bid to appease and benefit from them is not diplomacy. Such practice is fraught with the danger of turning a country into a battleground of powerful nations. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka finds itself in that predicament.