Category: News

Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar said India has done the best of its abilities to assist Sri Lanka.

This year alone India has extended USD 3.8 billion of support to Sri Lanka, including line of credits and swap arrangements, he said.

“I think if India and China have to come together, there are many reasons to do so, not necessarily only Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that it is in India and China’s own interest to join hands.

Sri Lanka, a nation of 22 million, is in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis that has led to severe shortages of fuel and other essentials. The Sri Lankan government is negotiating with the IMF for a bailout package.

“Any help we can give to Sri Lanka at the IMF that we will naturally do,” Jaishankar said.

Four suspects linked to the banned Sri Lankan outfit, the National Thowheed Jamath, have been charged in India.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against four men, including ‘Needur’ Sathik Batcha alias ICAMA Sathik, who were arrested for threatening police personnel at gunpoint in Tamil Nadu’s Mayiladuthurai earlier this year.

Investigations revealed that Sathik Batcha, a martial arts trainer, and other accused — R Ashiq alias Mohammed Ashiq Elahi of Coimbatore, A Mohamed Irfan of Karaikal, Rahamathulla alias Rahamath of Chennai — held conspiracy meetings in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala and Chennai to recruit members to the Khilafah Party of India and other outfits floated by them on the lines of proscribed organizations like ISIS, al-Qaeda and the National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) of Sri Lanka, the NIA said.

Sathik Batcha owed his allegiance to an IS module and later became a member to establish the Islamic State overthrowing the democracy, according to the NIA.

The Mayiladuthurai police arrested five men in January after which the NIA took over the case for further investigation. They were lodged in the Trichy Central Prison.

After inquiring about them, the NIA conducted searches in places linked to the accused in Chennai, Puducherry in June and seized electronic devices with incriminating documents apart from pamphlets with messages of Islamic State (IS).

However, the chargesheet was filed against only four, as there was not sufficient material evidence against the fifth accused Jabahar Ali.

Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands, he says
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Thursday that the relationship between India and China was going through an “extremely difficult phase” after what Beijing had done at the border and emphasised that the Asian Century would not happen if the two neighbours could not join hands.

He made the remarks while responding to a series of questions after delivering a lecture on ‘India’s Vision of the Indo-Pacific’ at the prestigious Chulalongkorn University here.

Responding to a question, Mr. Jaishankar said that the Asian Century would happen when China and India come together but it would be difficult to happen if India and China could not come together.

Also read: India envisages free, open, inclusive and peaceful Indo-Pacific built on rules-based order: EAM Jaishankar

“At the moment [the India-China] relationship is going through an extremely difficult phase after what China did at the border,” he said.

Chinese and Indian troops are engaged in a prolonged standoff in eastern Ladakh. The two sides have so far held 16 rounds of Corps Commander Level talks to resolve the standoff which erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake areas.

“I think if India and China have to come together, there are many reasons to do so, not necessarily only Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that it was in the own interest of India and China to join hands.

“We very much hope that wisdom dawns on the Chinese side,” the External Affairs Minister said while replying to another question from the audience.

Mr. Jaishankar said India had done the best of its abilities to assist Sri Lanka. This year alone India had extended $3.8 billion of support to Sri Lanka, including line of credits and swap arrangements, he said.

“Any help we can give to Sri Lanka at the IMF [International Monetary Fund] that we will naturally do,” Mr. Jaishankar said.

On the issue of Rohingya refugees, he said the issue had been discussed with Bangladesh. “What matters for them is repatriation. We have been supportive of Bangladesh,” he said.

Currently, Bangladesh is hosting more than 1 million Rohingya refugees, who fled Myanmar following a military operation against them a few years ago.

Responding to another question, the External Affairs Minister dismissed criticism for importing discounted Russian oil, saying India was not the only oil importing country.

The U.S. and European nations have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.

India has raised oil imports from Russia after the Ukraine war despite criticism from the West and continues to engage with Moscow for business.

Mr. Jaishankar, who arrived here on Tuesday, co-chaired the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission Meeting with his Thai counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Don Pramudwinai on Wednesday during which they discussed advancing bilateral contacts in political, economic, security and defence, connectivity and health domains.

The Australian government will lift emergency aid to Sri Lanka to AU$75 million as the south Asian island grapples with an economic crisis that has triggered a new surge of people fleeing on boats for Australia.

Sri Lanka’s worst financial meltdown has led to skyrocketing prices and crippling shortages of food, fuel and other necessities over the past three months and year-on-year inflation has climbed beyond 60 per cent.

The deterioration of living conditions has resulted in a renewal of attempted boat arrivals in Australia from Sri Lanka, with five vessels being intercepted by Australian Border Force with a total of 137 people on board and 15 more, carrying 701 passengers all up, being stopped in Sri Lankan waters.

Boat arrivals also became a key focus on the day of May’s federal election after the Liberal Party texted voters in marginal seats about the interception of an asylum seeker boat that morning.

In the past week, China, a key creditor of the bankrupt island nation, has also flexed its muscles by insisting on docking a giant scientific research ship at southern Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port despite concerns raised by India.

In the midst of Sri Lanka’s freefall, Australia committed AU$50 million in June in urgent humanitarian backing. On Friday, it will announce a further AU$25 million to fast-track food and health supplies to those in most need in the former British colony.

“Australia stands with the people of Sri Lanka, especially those experiencing severe hardship,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong said.

“It is in Australia’s national interest to strengthen Sri Lanka’s economic resilience and accelerate its recovery.”

The beefed-up support package comes a fortnight after an unprecedented move when Australian Border Force used its own patrol vessel to return 46 men to Colombo that it had intercepted at sea rather than taking them back by air.

In a deliberate message aimed at discouraging people from paying people smugglers and boarding boats towards Australia, the 110-metre Ocean Shield was given a publicised welcoming ceremony by the Sri Lanka Navy after pulling into the port in the capital city.

Lately, it has been another ship that has been the centre of attention as Beijing has demonstrated its influence there.

The Sri Lankan government asked China to delay the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5 tracking vessel for a reported refuelling and replenishment at Hambantota, a port built with Chinese loans and since leased to Chinese state-owned companies for 99 years as a debt swap.

There were fears that the “spy ship”, as it was labelled in the Indian media, could conduct surveillance in the region. Sri Lanka ultimately give it the go-ahead to dock on Tuesday, saying it would not carry out research activities while it was in Sri Lankan waters.

The saga illustrated the fine balancing act an ailing Sri Lanka is having to perform with the two Asian powers. India, another creditor, has been the major source of foreign assistance for the island, kicking in more than $US4 billion during the crisis. But China’s agreement to restructure infrastructure loans to Sri Lanka is vital for the country to reach a bailout program with the International Monetary Fund.

Former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa will reportedly return to Sri Lanka next week after leaving the country and resigning when his residence was overrun by thousands of protesters in July. He has been residing in Singapore and Thailand.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was voted in by MPs as Rajapaksa’s successor a month ago and moved to dismantle the months-old protest camps in Colombo, said this week Sri Lanka’s state of emergency would not be imposed beyond this week.

Sri Lanka in April defaulted on its foreign debt of $51 billion as its foreign currency reserves dried up.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Sri Lanka is expecting to wrap up a staff level agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) when a team visits the country at the end of August, Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said.

“The IMF mission is coming to Sri Lanka by the end of the month with the intention of reaching staff level agreement on the policy package.

“We are making good progress with the IMF mission and we’re hoping to reach staff level agreement,” Weerasinghe said at a monthly policy review meeting held on Thursday August 18.

“We have achieved our policy level targets so we hope to reach staff level agreement. This will certainly improve our situation,” he said.

At the moment, the Central Bank is in the process analysing its creditors before it reaches out to them.

“Once the staff level agreements with the IMF are concluded, the country hopes to reach out to its external creditors. Once the IMF agreements are in place, we will reach out to all our bilateral and commercial creditors,” he said.

Weerasinghe said a staff level agreement with the IMF will give the country a “clear picture on debt sustainability and debt targets for the country to achieve in the next 10 years and an overall macro-fiscal programme.”

He said using these programmes endorsed by the IMF they will be able to reach out to the external creditors including first party commercial creditors and International Sovereign Bond (ISB) holders, the Paris club including Japan (which is a major partner of the Paris club) and non-Paris club creditors like China and India.

“All [creditors] will be officially approached and we will present our overall macro programme that has been endorsed by the IMF and also the debt targets we have to achieve going forward.

“So, with that information we will approach different groups and the process will commence from there with the assistance of France-based Lazard and Clifford Chance legal advisors as well as the other agents.”

Weerasinghe said the government is confident that debt can be made sustainable without restructuring domestic debt.

Source: Economy Next