Chinese Submarine Docking in Sri Lanka “Inimical” to India’s Interests: Government

Sri Lanka has allowed a Chinese submarine to dock at its Colombo port days after the visit of Vietnam’s prime minister to India. This follows another Chinese submarine docking in Sri Lanka in September, reports Sachin Parashar for the Times of India. India views the docking as a violation of a 1987 agreement declaring that “ports in Sri Lanka will not be made available for military use by any country in a manner prejudicial to India’s interests.” The report includes an interview with a New Delhi–based strategic affairs expert who describes the move as a “grand miscalculation” and characterizes Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa as emboldened by weaker Indian power in recent years. India is pressured over border conflicts to the north, and Chinese access to Sri Lankan ports adds pressure from the south. The US, UK and India are Sri Lanka’s top export partners; India leads, followed by China, for the nation’s imports. Some US newspapers express concern about China projecting maritime power and preventing US intervention in Asian affairs. – YaleGlobal