Common Sense at CHOGM: Advantage China?
India’s external affairs minister, Mr Salman Khurshid, went to Sri Lanka to replace Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) conclave in November 2013. This decision by the government of India speaks volumes about how regional politics and associated narrow political compulsions adversely impact national security policymaking. Regrettably, the politics of Tamil Nadu is more about tokenism than actually helping the cause of Tamilans in Sri Lanka.
The absence of the Indian PM has in no way helped to resolve the issue of setting straight the human rights record of Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa, but it has definitely impacted India's long-term strategic interests in respect of one of its important neighbors.
India shares historical ties with Sri Lanka and has wide-ranging interests, from Buddhism to business. The island state is of particular importance because of its strategic location in the Indian Ocean region and the geographic advantages it offers. In the 21st century, India needs to look at Sri Lanka beyond the Tamil issue. There is a need to appreciate that reasons could be no matter what, but over the years, India has failed to engage most of its neighbours. States like Sri Lanka give hope and opportunity for constructive engagement, but unfortunately, that is not happening.
Interestingly, in the past, regarding the UN Human Rights Council resolution on human rights violations in Sri Lanka, India took a position that any West-sponsored extreme ideas of blaming Sri Lanka should not be considered. India had successfully lobbied for a “less intrusive, more balanced and more respectful of Sri Lankan sovereignty” resolution. Unfortunately, pragmatic foreign policy manoeuvres are now overshadowed by narrow political agendas.
China is systematically exploiting this flip-flop in foreign policymaking. For the last few years, China has been using the opportunity ‘void' in Indian foreign policy in Sri Lanka as an opportunity to ascertain its presence in the island country. China has cautiously but deliberately started making inroads into Sri Lanka's strategic infrastructure sector about a decade ago. China understood that a sustained economic engagement would offer long-term benefits for an underdeveloped and politically distributed state like Sri Lanka. Politically, the Chinese helped them supply arms during a major offensive against LTTE in 2009.
Today, China is among the most critical factors in India-Sri Lanka relations. China has succeeded in establishing a significant footprint in Sri Lanka both economically and politically. Experts view that China’s strategy towards India has three elements: encirclement, envelopment, and entanglement, and the Sri Lankan case fits perfectly in this regard.
‘Encirclement’ is a “strengthened Chinese strategic presence (encircling India) in Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Maldives. China is keen to invest in the Indian Ocean island states, and Sir Lanka offers them the best platform. From coal power plants to harbour projects, Chinese investment has risen to $ 4 billion since 2009. Bilateral trade between the two countries increased to $ 2.6 billion in 2012. ‘Envelopment’ is essentially “integrating all of India’s neighbours into the Chinese economy, and they have achieved that beautifully in Sri Lanka.” Entanglement " exploits India’s domestic contradictions and multiple security concerns and politics in Tamil Nadu, which offers them the best opportunity for this.”
Despite being a member of CHOGM, China has successfully put its presence in and around CHOGM. The Chinese efforts to enhance its trading opportunities on the sidelines of CHOGM are enjoyable. 42 Chinese companies were among the 100 foreign companies participating in the trade exhibition "Reflections of Sri Lanka" at the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF), held on the sidelines of the CHOGM summit. In contrast, despite being Sri Lanka's largest trading partner, India will be represented by only 21 companies at the exhibition. The venue for the CHOGM - Bandaranaike Memorial International Convention Hall (BMICH) in Colombo - was also renovated following China's grant of $15.3 million. China supported a newly built $ 292 million highway connecting the capital’s international airport to the main city. Three Chinese companies have signed deals worth over $1.5 billion with Sri Lanka at the CBF. All this indicates how keen China is to invest in a relatively inconsequential event like this. In the area of technology collaboration, China is also making intelligent investments. A few months back, the first satellite for Sri Lanka (owned by a private company) was launched with Chinese assistance.
It is important for India to appreciate that China's "enduring generosity" to Sri Lanka has a strategic purpose. The “great game” of this century is being played in the waters of the Indian Ocean, and that’s why Sri Lanka matters most.