China’s State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi visiting Sri Lanka next week will be symbolic, as the diplomatic row between Sri Lanka over the fertiliser issue and India (over China making inroads in the north of Sri Lanka) escalates.
Yi would be the first high-profile visitor to Sri Lanka in 2022, scheduled between 8-9 January,in the wake of the prolonging fertiliser dispute between China and Sri Lanka. The Chinese Embassy in Colombo said Yi will pay an official visit to Sri Lanka to launch the celebration of the 65th Anniversary of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations but it has a lot more to be resolved as China has stepped up to slap further sanctions on Sri Lanka over the fertiliser dispute and if it’s not in their favour.
Last week, the Chinese gave over 100 motorcycles to the Sri Lankan Police. They’ve also offered US$ 1.5 billion under a Yuan currency swap. They also gave Rs. 19.6 million to Samagi Jana Balawegaya’s medical equipment donation programme. These are to reassert its strength in the country, which is crumbling due to a difficult geopolitical scuffle they are facing. China has intensified their stronghold in Sri Lanka making sure that the Island will not turn its back on them.
Colombo will be the last stop of Yi’s first foreign visit in the New Year.He would arrive to resolve a slew of issues and offer a massive package of engagements. It would be another new beginning for Sino-Lanka relationship amidst worries of geopolitical constraints India would face while China strengthen its ties here.
From 4 to 7 January 2022, Yi is expected to tour the African region, including Eritrea, Kenya, and the Comoros, before moving onto the Maldives and Sri Lanka. These are China’s vital nodes in their maritime silk route agenda.
About Wang Yi
Yi is a native of Beijing. He served as the Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of Asian Affairs for nineyears. He graduated from the Department of Asian and African Languages of Beijing and his knowledge of African and Asian affairs areunrivalled. He is a key strategist in guiding the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on their diplomatic moves. He has visited Colombo four times before, and his trip to the city became symbolic with the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), in which he plays a larger role connecting the string of pearls.
China Making Inroads in the North?
Chinese Envoy Qi Zhenhong recent visit to the Northern Province was symbolic by all means. China usually deals with the Government and through government entities. They don’t directly mingle with communities and never have with the Tamils of Sri Lankato start with.
Their strategic decision to embrace the Tamils in the North was not realistic. They entered when the region is having a major dispute with Tamil Nadu fishermen. The Northern Tamil fishermen have actually briefed the Chinese on their plight. China provided them with fishing nets and dry rations that cost millions of rupees, indicating that they are providing the nets because Indian fishermen had destroyed the local fishermen’s nets.
The Chinese envoy approached Minister of Fisheries Douglas Devananda through government contacts, and this is how their presence in the northern territory came to be. Devananda’s understanding of geopolitics may be limited, but it has heightened tensions in India. China took advantage of the situation, according to geopolitical experts, by exploiting the local fishermen’s grievances that Devandanda’s EPDP members went after.
“The fishermen issue is a long standing unresolved issue and we are having discussions with the Indian Government over it. I have been to New Delhi to discuss the issue and we have agreed on many issues and also focused on the difficulties in executing those matters,” TNA MP M.A. Sumanthiran said during a zoom meeting with Tamil Nadu-based media outlet Puthidyathalamurai.
He said the TNA wants to resolve issues, but that’s between India and Sri Lanka. the MP said people of the North and East know the connections between India and Sri Lanka and the northern people know that the Chinese visit was purely part of their geopolitical interests and to annoy the Indians.
Also throughout the Chinese visit, TNA Leader R. Samapanthan said the TNA has no objection with diplomats visiting the North andEast as the Tamil people’s political solution lies with India, whilereminding that China never gave its opinion on Sri Lanka’s national problem. He recalled that China voted against Tamil aspirations at the UNHRC session and did not take any interest in resolving the Tamil issue politically and that their wanting to embrace Tamils now is purely a geopolitical move.
The Chinese envoy and his team not only visited Jaffna and Point Pedro but also Mannar. From Mannar they hopped onto a Navy boat to Ram Sethu (Adam’s bridge) and had a short voyage to the third dune on the sea between India and Talaimannar. There are 16 dunes out of which eight belongs to Sri Lanka and the other eight belonging to India. The Chinese also used drones to take photos and videos of the area.
The Chinese envoy and his group were reported to have visited Kachchativu, alleged some Tamil Nadu Media, but the Sri Lanka Navy and Minister Devananda told Ceylon Today that this was not the case. However, the diplomatic spat between India and China is still on going and it’s centred in Sri Lanka.
Fertiliser Quagmire
Wang’s visit to Sri Lanka also coincides with an unresolved dispute over the contaminated Chinese fertiliser shipment that Sri Lanka has rejected. It was local academics/scientists, who are not politically inclined,who gave the report on the samples sent by Qingdao Seawin Biotech. The Department of Agriculture refused to allow the shipment to enter the country as it is processed garbage from China. Because of the dispute, China eventually banned the State-run People’s Bank from doing business with the country. The Government has not shown any interest in getting this matter sorted and safeguarding the State bank’s reputation. However, China is worried about their international reputation and soon sued Sri Lanka and claimed USD 8 millionin compensation. The Court will hear the case on 6 January 2022.
Rather than remove the contaminated fertiliser, the Chinese went to the local Court and filed a complaint through their local agentChelina Capital.
Qingdao Seawin refused to accept responsibility and instead blacklisted People’s Bank with the backing of the Chinese Embassy and powerful politicians. For nearly two months, the issue has remained unresolved. The Chinese have not adjusted to the situation, despite the Government wanting both parties to reach an amicable agreement.
Local newspapers quoted that the shipment from China was deemed an illegalimportation in the absence of a valuable Protection of Phytosanitary Certificate (PPC) from the Chinese company. This was revealed by a top official of the Ministry of Agriculture. As a result, the National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO), who lacks the legal authority to inspect the fertiliser, issued a non-compliance notice to its Chinese counterpart after sample testing. But China is adamant to accept the fault. They have been forcing Sri Lanka to consider the fertiliser or pay compensation so that their international image is not tarnished over a minor fertiliser issue.
During his visit in January 2020, Yi called Sri Lanka a strategic partner for China and assured that China will continue to support Sri Lanka’s interests. He also said China would always respect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and pledged that no ‘interference’ in the country’s internal affairs would be tolerated. During his meeting with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Yi said that China’s policy toward Sri Lanka had always been consistent and that it would continue to be Sri Lanka’s ‘reliable friend’. All of this, however, is now a distant memory, asChina has checkmated Sri Lanka over the dispute.
Treading Carefully
Despite the fact that it is not widely publicised, the current crisis between China and Sri Lanka is deep but subtle, and Wang’s visit would resolve all outstanding issues, it is expected.
Nonetheless, Sri Lanka views China as a reliable and long-term development partner. Wang announced a new USD 1 billion concessionary long-term loan, as well as China’s agreement to a phased-out debt repayment schedule starting in 2020. China offered a 10 billion Yuan (1.5bn USD) swap beginning of 2021.
These were offers to show that China would stand by Sri Lanka and not allow “outside influences” to ‘interfere’ in its internal matters. It means, China would protect Sri Lanka from others who do politics with Sri Lanka whereas China’s interest is only economical.
Aside from the economic interest, China has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wants Sri Lanka to be protected from its enemies. These countries are keeping a close eye on China’s activities in Sri Lanka and the Indo-Pacific region, where the Chinese are constructing artificial islands similar to the one they built in Sri Lanka – the Port City.
A Report on the Findings and Recommendations from the Meetings of the Advisory Council was released by China. At the Meeting of the Advisory Council of The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation 2021, Yi spoke highly of the fruitful achievements in Belt and Road cooperation over the past eight years.
Wang took stock of international developments and China’s foreign relations during 2021, including great endeavours made on nine fronts, and put forth six priorities of Chinese Diplomacy in 2022.
India dispatched Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Army Chief General MM Narvane to strengthen India’s ties with Sri Lanka. According to Indian Media, India has focused its entire attention on Sri Lanka’s North and East. While Sri Lanka has welcomed both India and China, it will need to tread carefully in the coming years to avoid upsetting either party andturning the island into a battleground, rather than a place where they can benefit from their common interests.
(ameisulo@gmail.com)
