Columns

Continuous mismanagement of the economy has made the country vulnerable and over dependent on questionable measures to keep the economy afloat. Large scale printing of money and currency swaps are being resorted to as a means of replenishing the empty coffers of the Treasury.

With Sri Lanka’s Fitch Ratings being shown up in a negative light the country’s capacity to access funds in the international market has taken a beating.

Foreign reserves are at a low thus rendering the country’s debt servicing obligations an area of concern for the Government and the country.

In the midst of all this, Sri Lanka’s increasing dependence and often servile attitude to China is a matter of concern to all those who value the independence of the country.

The fundamental issue is not the over dependence on China per se. The national pride is deeply affected irrespective of which country one becomes servile to; whether it is China, India, the United States, the Soviet Union or anyone else.

For a country which proudly held its head high and could speak its mind to all members of the international community, irrespective of its size or influence, it is indeed a sad situation we are in right now.

As a result of the principled foreign policy followed by early leaders in which the national interest took precedence, the country enjoyed the respect of the international community to the extent that it was even elevated to the status of heading the Non Aligned Movement.

In view of its standing in the global arena, Sri Lanka could undertake a successful mediatory role in the Indo-China dispute in 1962. On the other hand it could take a principled stand during the Suez Crisis based on the injustices caused to the Palestinian people. Further it could offer limited facilities of refuelling to Pakistan during the Indo-Pakistan conflict that led to the creation of Bangladesh despite both India and Pakistan being equally valued friends of the country.

It was an era where the world listened when Sri Lanka spoke. Today it is a matter for deep regret that Sri Lanka does not enjoy the same degree of respect in the international community as it did in the past.

According to many pronouncements of the current Government it follows a neutral (not nonaligned) foreign policy. The late S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike speaking in the United Nations General Assembly took offence at the description of the nonaligned countries as ‘uncommitted’ (neutral). “We are committed to the hilt” against injustice, he said.

The failure to follow the prudent policy of not putting all the economic eggs in one political basket has increased the current vulnerability of Sri Lanka. Having burned its boats with long standing friends of the past like India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan it is cosying up to another old friend, China.

However the Government has failed to differentiate between the China of the 1950s (when it signed the Rubber-Rice pact as a manifestation of the friendship between the two countries), and the China of today.

Today, with its Belt and Road Initiative and its economy power, China is seeking to expand its influence in the world to fulfil its global ambitions. It is in search of countries that will help it achieve its objectives, and by its actions in the recent past, Sri Lanka has shown that it is willing and able to oblige.

The fact that China’s footprint in the country is increasing is there for all but the blind to see. Starting with the ill-conceived Hambantota Port project, China’s role in the Sri Lankan economy has spread into large and not so large projects in the country.

The Port City project itself has been described by detractors as a pre-cursor to the setting up of a Chinese colony. Many construction projects have been taken over by Chinese companies staffed by Chinese and identified by large billboards with Chinese lettering. Many Chinese shops identifiable by their billboards have sprung up in the city showing the extent of the Chinese spread.

The most recent expose of the Chinese involvement is the news of the involvement of Chinese personnel wearing Chinese Army like fatigue in the excavation work of the Tissa Wewa tank in the Hambantota District. It is the use of these fatigues that probably attracted media spotlight. Otherwise this is another Chinese project that may have gone unnoticed.

What is of concern is why such a project could not have been entrusted to a Sri Lankan Company, which could have obtained the service of Sri Lankans with the necessary expertise, who are readily available given that this is a country with a “irrigation tank culture.” It has now been revealed that the Tissa Wewa is a historic monument nearly 2000 years old therefore making it of considerable archaeological value.

Media reports also claim the project has not obtained the approval of the Archaeological Department and has been halted. The question uppermost in the minds of the people must be why no action has been taken in terms of the Archaeological Ordinance against the offenders. In the past when offences in breach of the Antiquities Ordinance are committed a huge cry is raised and the offenders are brought before the Courts.

According to former Minister S. B. Dissanayake, China has informed the Sri Lankan Government that it could borrow as much as it wants from China and return such loans whenever it could. If all indications are anything to go by the Government has accepted the offer. One hopes that it will not be like the case of the fly which was invited by the spider into its web.

In the past, and occasionally in the present, there are many vocal advocates who speak out against what they describe as “Indian expansionism.” Today these ‘patriots’ seemed to have disappeared and are maintaining a loud silence in the face of the increase in Chinese influence in the country which may amount to “Chinese expansionism”. (javidyusuf@gmail.com)