By P. Soma Palan –
P. Soma Palan
I refer to the front page headlined news report in the Daily News paper of 29th February 2024 and wish to express my independent, objective views as a free thinker.
Indian Ocean as the name suggest is virtually India’s Ocean, because India is the predominant country in the region. The security of the Indian Ocean is a major concern of India, as much as those of the other littoral countries, including Sri Lanka. In this light, saying that Sri Lanka will remain neutral is preposterous. Sri Lanka’s security is also tied up with the Indian Ocean Security. Therefore, it cannot remain neutral and do nothing about it.
The threat to the Indian Ocean security is due to the China’s expansionist penetration in the region by its strident pursuit of the Belt and Road initiatives. It is indisputable that all nations have the right to navigation in the Indian Ocean. The right of navigation is one thing, but establishing power centres and using ships to spy and garner critical intelligence of its rivals in the region is a different thing. A case in point is the recent docking of a Chinese ship in Colombo, Sri Lanka under the guise of Ocean research, met with strong protests from India. This exposed the dubious nature of Sri Lanka’s neutrality. Further, China has built the Hambantota Harbour in southern Sri Lanka and also the Colombo Port City by reclaiming part of the sea, next to Colombo Harbour, in which China has a stake-hold. These developments run counter to the stance of neutrality declared by Sri Lanka. It is China, which is thousands of miles away making inroads in the Indian Ocean region. India is not making inroads in the South China Sea or the Pacific Ocean. China also has links with Pakistan. China’s pursuit of expansion to dominate the Indian Ocean by its Belt and Road initiatives is very clear.
In this scenario, Sri Lanka announcing its lofty stance of neutrality, only weakens the security of the Indian Ocean region. Sri Lanka whether neutral or not, is bound to be caught in the conflict between major powers in the Indian Ocean. Without being non-committal and neutral Sri Lanka should contribute to the Indian Ocean security and discharge its responsibility. To be neutral is intellectual and moral cowardice. In a way very neutrality is a hidden partiality to a party. The hidden pull towards China presumably is because China is considered a Buddhist country. China is only a namesake Buddhist country. China’s religion is Marxism or Communism, based on One Party Authoritarianism, where freedoms of the people are circumscribed. To say China is a Buddhist country is a misnomer. Marxism upholds that religion is the opium of the people. Buddha Dharma and Authoritarianism are incompatible. A Buddhist country ought to be Democratic and Liberal. It cannot be a regimented, repressive, One Party dictatorship.
On the contrary, India is the birthplace of Buddhism. Buddhism is the biggest gift to Sri Lanka. India is our closest neighbor, not the distant China. Hence, Sri Lanka has religious and cultural ties with India coming down from ancient times. Not only religious legacy, but also ethnic relationship between India and Sri Lanka .Sri Lanka has no affinity in any respect to China.
Neutrality is a much abused term. It is being nowhere. It covers many sins under the cover by claiming to be independent, moral and just. By being neutral, you are actually partial, but have no moral courage and honesty to say so, or you fear of its repercussions, as an individual or a country. So, President’s lofty declaration of neutrality in the Indian Ocean region has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Ruchira / March 9, 2024
What garbage is P Soma Palan writing, while claiming to be a free thinker? It seems like he is enslaved by the very same pro-India mindset that many in these forums are affected with.
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“Indian Ocean as the name suggest is virtually India’s Ocean,…”
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Really? What nonsense?
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Does Philip Gunawardena Mawatha belongs to the Gunawardena family? Can the Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena claim ownership to it and impose his personal rules over it as to who could use it for what purpose?
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It’s just a name.
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Similarly Indian Ocean does not belong to India. There are International Maritime Laws governing international waters and India’s maritime boundaries within the Indian Ocean are clearly demarcated, so are those of the other countries that located in the Indian Ocean.
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TBC
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Ruchira / March 9, 2024
Cont’d…
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“The security of the Indian Ocean is a major concern of India, as much as those of the other littoral countries, including Sri Lanka.”
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Security of the Indian Ocean is a major concern of everyone that use it, including of Chinas, as in and outbound maritime traffic from China towards the Western hemisphere invariable pass through Indian Ocean.
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Being neutral means that you let everyone that use these maritime routes continue to use them without a hindrance and without favourations to any one party.
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Security therefore is of paramount importance to all such parties not just to India or to Sri Lanka or to other countries in the region.
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TBC
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Ruchira / March 9, 2024
Cont’d…
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“The right of navigation is one thing, but establishing power centres and using ships to spy and garner critical intelligence of its rivals in the region is a different thing.”
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What about close to 1000 military bases that the United States and the United Kingdom together have across the globe far away from their immediate neighbourhoods?
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Diergo Garcia being one in our very own Indian Ocean? For the establishment of which they rather strategically evacuated all the native inhabitants of the island.
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Where’s the opposition for that?
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Out of these US and UK military bases a vast majority, vlose to about 800 beling to the US’s and quite large number of them occupy lications in Sout China Sea encircling China!
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Where’s the objection to that?
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In relation the Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City the author states: “These developments run counter to the stance of neutrality declared by Sri Lanka.”
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How?
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TBC
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Ruchira / March 9, 2024
Cont’d…
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Don’t both India and the US have stakehold in the Colombo Harbour? What about the airports being given to be managed by an Indian entity and other energy projects. Not to mention the Oil Tank Farms?
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Does letting a country invest in various projects on your shores vialates neutrality of foreign policy?
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Or does the author think only India is entitled to invest in Sri Lanka for some reason?
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“It is China, which is thousands of miles away making inroads in the Indian Ocean region.”
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So is America in the South China Sea. So is the Europe through the propsed Europe Middle East India Economic Corridor. So is Undia through the proposed bridge between India and Sri Lanka.
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“India is not making inroads in the South China Sea or the Pacific Ocean.”
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Obviously India does not have enough money for such projects. That is not China’s fault.
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TBC
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Ruchira / March 9, 2024
Cont’d…
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“China also has links with Pakistan. China’s pursuit of expansion to dominate the Indian Ocean by its Belt and Road initiatives is very clear.”
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China is building infrastructure to increase connectivity and trade relations in the Eurasian landmass and the Aftican continent through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that has a total of 6 economic corridors China Pakistan Corridor is only one of them.
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It is to facilitate trade and economic ties in the region. Nothing to do with wanting to dominate Indian Ocean. India isn’t the centre of the Universe. No need to get paranoid.
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It is not China’s fault that relations between Pakistan and India aren’t being the best.
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And the argument about China being Buddhist therefore Sri Lanka secretly is partial China is the most hillarious one. Even worse is the suggestion that Sri Lanka should take India’s side because that’s where Buddha was from!
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Ruchira / March 9, 2024
Cont’d…
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WRT Buddhism: cultural ties between countries are one thing and the economic, trade, foreign and investment relations between them are quite another.
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According to author’s logic every Christian should take Israel’s side no matter what atrocities they commit since that’s where Jesus is from.
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On the matter of the Chinese vessel – it has got nothing to do with our partiality to China but everything to do with categorisation of what type of a vessel (military or civilian research) it is and how genuine this categorisation was.
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Relations between China and Sri Lanka goes way back in history and unlike India, China has never made any attempts to invade Sri Lanka or any other country for that matter throughout the period of known history.
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It’s ludicrous to suggest Sri Lanka should refrain from having close ties with China because unlike India it is thousand of miles farther from us.
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Geopolitics and international relations do not work like that. For example countries like Japan/South Korea just to give couple of examples regardless of having being geographically closer to China are quite openly pro- US in their foreign policy, despite even having significant trade relations with China.
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Some people need to wake up to the realities of the world.
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old codger / March 10, 2024
I really don’t understand why some people suffer from foot-in-mouth disease. Perhaps the period of history they know doesn’t exceed 20 years…..
“On their return to Sri Lanka, the Chinese were overbearing and contemptuous of the Sinhalese, whom they considered to be rude, disrespectful, and hostile.[2] They also resented that the Sinhalese were committing hostilities towards neighboring countries that had diplomatic relations with Ming China.[2] Zheng He and a contingent of 2,000 Chinese troops traveled overland into Kotte because Alakeshvara had lured them into his territory.[2] Alakeshvara soon cut off Zheng and his troops from the Chinese treasure fleet anchored at Colombo.[8] He planned to launch a surprise attack on the fleet.[3]
In response, Zheng and his contingent of troops invaded Kotte and conquered its capital.[3] They captured Alakeshvara with his family and principal officials.[8][9] Hereafter, they fought their way back to the fleet for six days.[10] The Sinhalese Army hastily returned and surrounded the capital but was repeatedly defeated in battle by the invading Chinese troops.[2]”
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Ruchira / March 11, 2024
It was not an invasion period.
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