By Patrick Mendis and Dominique Reichenbach –
Following top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi’s meeting with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka earlier in October, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Colombo on October 27 for a two-day visit. After signing the last of four foundational agreements for military ties with India, Pompeo warned the pro-Chinese administration in Colombo that “the Chinese Communist Party is a predator” while “the United States comes in a different way — we come as a friend and a partner.” Notably, Pompeo’s visit piggybacked off of the “2+2 Ministerial Dialogue” in India, which was also intended to curb Chinese influence in South Asia by strengthening U.S.-India military and diplomatic ties.
Despite Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Jayanath Colombage’s commitment to a “neutral” and “India First” approach to tensions among India, China, and the United States, the pro-Beijing Rajapaksa administration’s actions speak louder than its words. Pompeo may want Sri Lanka to “make difficult but necessary decisions” to reject Chinese aid in favor of economic partnership with the United States; however, Sri Lanka has repeatedly chosen China for its economic and development needs. Pompeo’s visit did little to sway the Rajapaksa administration from China’s power of the purse and its history of Buddhist diplomacy.
SOFA, MCC, and China’s COVID-19 Diplomacy
Since the United States failed to renew its Status of Armed Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Sri Lanka and fell short of finalizing its $480 million Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) accord in February, China has successfully amplified its efforts to cement economic relationships with Sri Lanka. Through a financial “art of war,” China has become Sri Lanka’s unfailing economic and diplomatic partner in need.
China first provided a concessionary loan of $500 million for COVID-19 relief at the urgent request of the Rajapaksa administration in March 2020. Shortly thereafter, in May, Sri Lankan officials approved a decision to borrow $80 million from China to improve road infrastructure. China then pledged another $90 million grant to the island nation for medical care, education, and water supplies soon after Yang’s visit. The two partners are currently negotiating terms for a $1.5 billion currency swap and a new $700 million loan, marking Colombo’s fourth loan request to Beijing this year.
China has also cemented its Sri Lankan foothold through health care donation diplomacy and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In early June, China established the “China-Sri Lanka Belt and Road Political Parties Joint Consultation Mechanism” intended to strengthen “exchanges on governance.” By late June, China sent its third round of medical supplies to Sri Lanka, including 30,000 PCR testing kits, 30,000 disposable coveralls, 600,000 surgical masks, and 30,000 medical goggles.
In comparison, the United States has provided a mere $5.8 million grant and 200 ventilators to Sri Lanka for COVID-19 relief. India finalized a $400 million currency swap, and is considering an additional $1.1 billion swap to help with the economic fallout from the virus. To date, India and the U.S. lack a dollar-to-dollar competitive advantage in Sri Lanka that would have made Pompeo’s visit effective in steering the island democracy away from Chinese partnership.
With Sri Lanka owing over $5 billion to China, President Rajapaksa has faced pressure to distance Colombo from Beijing’s debt trap tendencies. However, he has rejected debt trap claims, stating that Chinese-funded projects “will help improve the living standards of the people.” The Rajapaksa administration is well-aware of its financial decisions, arguing that “in different times in world history, different countries have been the ones who have had the most amount of cash. And now it happens to be China.”
Beijing Consensus in Colombo
Even if internal pressure to reject China continued, Rajapaksa’s recent sweeping power grab allowing him to appoint top officials and dissolve parliament means that his decisions regarding China will go unchecked. The Parliament overwhelmingly approved the 20th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, concentrating absolute powers under the president and reversing reforms made to curb authoritarianism. The amendment lifted a ban on dual citizens holding office, which will allow “a sibling who is a U.S. citizen to enter Parliament, further strengthening the Rajapaksa family’s hold on Sri Lanka’s political power.” Currently, Rajapaksa’s older brother, former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, serves as prime minister and another brother and three nephews are lawmakers. This consolidation of power will leave the pro-Chinese Rajapaksa family in charge for years to come.
Moving forward, Pompeo must reopen dialogue about the MCC accord and shelve SOFA discussions for the foreseeable future if it hopes to counter China. Washington urged Sri Lanka to choose the United States over China to “secure its economic independence for long-term prosperity.” However, the MCC accord originally failed because Sri Lanka saw through its attempts at masquerading as a means of “economic independence,” while the strings-attached threat of SOFA hung in the air as a “very serious infringement on the country’s sovereignty.” If SOFA is replaced with a less invasive attempt at securing military and economic cooperation, Pompeo’s future dealings with Sri Lanka might be more successful at providing a “transparent” alternative to China’s less-than-pure economic intentions in the island nation, which is strategically located along major Indian Ocean maritime shipping and air routes.
As it stands, Sri Lanka has become a major target of Beijing’s tributary foreign policy and growing influence in South Asia. Given President Rajapaksa’s recent seizure of power and his family’s penchant for Chinese economic assistance, Pompeo’s mission to persuade Sri Lanka away from its strategic alliance with Beijing will continue to fail without major financial and military concessions for the pending MCC and SOFA accords from Washington.
*Dr. Patrick Mendis, a former American diplomat and a military professor in the NATO and Pacific Commands, is a Taiwan fellow of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China and a distinguished visiting professor of global affairs at the National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taipei. Dominique Reichenbach, an American David Boren scholar, served as a research intern and teaching assistant at NCCU. Their views expressed in this analysis do not represent the official positions of the current or past affiliation of their institutions nor the respective governments. This article is courtesy of The Diplomat.
ramona therese fernando / October 31, 2020
Whoever the US-admin. is after Nov., it is going to come down tough on China! Why? Toppling the global money balance will create crippling destruction of the West. They will fight back hard. GoSL out of decency and respect towards Lankan citizens, should to realize this, instead of being mired in temporary power-hunger games. Money never comes (should never come) that easily. Are our Lankans truly better off with Chinese loans? Our pay-back depends solely on Chine’s prominence in the region with Port-City. The risk is HUGE. Our hard-won territorial integrity is at dire risk.
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SJ / October 31, 2020
Thank you RTF
When in doubt one can count on you to get it absolutely wrong.
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old codger / November 1, 2020
S.J,
Given the headline, I rather expected you to be in the scrum!
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SJ / November 1, 2020
OC
This is a game that I took part, some months ago, and I thought that I will sit on the sidelines for this replay of even less consequence.
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ramona therese fernando / November 1, 2020
*…..should realize this…..
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
Grandma,
Please not again the baby game. 72 years …… you say temporary game? And additionally, out of decency for the Sinhala Buddhists, they stop that game? Grandma you eat cake; you don’t need Biriyani; but how about those who sent the wives to ME and waiting the Biriyani parcel? Do they know to bake cake? Grandma please, be little mercy on Royals for the shake of the guys waiting for the parcel and the bottle.
Thank you in advance.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
There is neither any new wine nor even a new bottle in this essay. It is just the recycle of the old Mahavamsa legendary tales. The current (Western) world foreign policy towards Lankawe is highly influenced by propagandist Kathirgamar’s time campaign and the dodger Rohan Gunaratna like Terrorism consultant. As Chinese strategists are free from these brainwashing, it is foreign policy towards Lankawe is so far highly successful and remain unchangeable, but that is not conclusive end. Further problem is the different purposes and approaches among the foreign actors of democratic team, in Lankawe. India, which is not yet a full pro-western actor, wants Lankawe as one unit and exclusively for it. EU said it has no Navy to defend Indian Oceans, so anything Lankawe does will do for it. America wants Lankawe one unit and independently practicing pro-western policies. China, the predator, rather than want Lankawe, abolish Lankawe independent ID so no one else could influence Lankawe in any manner or there may no need to protect Lankawe to protect China’s interest in Indian Ocean. China is sure it can defend Taiwan as even now, but fears that Lankawe it cannot defend Lankawe from foreign invasion even for another 20 years. So China appears to be highly in need of closing the down the story of Lankawe quicker than closing down Taiwan.
The fear in China’s mind can drive it into any path to secure Lankawe, military options while turning India attention in North or going for Crimea like referendum.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
The fear in China’s mind can drive it into any path to secure Lankawe, military options while turning India attention in North or going for Crimea like referendum.
The other element here is the essay induces West to plan, ignoring Tamil element. Fortunately India is conscious about Tamils in its strategies whether it like or not solving Tamils’ issue. All Lankawe current problems stemmed from Don Stephen’s jealous acts on Ramanathan, Vythyanathan like Tamil elite families. The feeling of the Sinhala Politicians on that time was that they broke the back of Kandy Tamil Kingdom and made deal with Britain for their protection under Kandyan Accord, but Tamils came back by the other direction and had captured the power. Whether that Sinhalese assumption was right or not, the thinking is reasonable, by another assentation, not based on forgoing talks, in which Lee Kwan Yew said Rajapaksa had made a mistake by seeking military solution, but Tamils will be back rising from this defeat. After JVP gained 41 seats in 2005, I wrote small essay to BBC which was ignored, explaining that Lankawe’s first political Party LSSP was stripped off but Lankawe was on the road Sinhala Buddhist Socialism. This new Lankawe Socialism is not based on Marxism or Trotskyism; it is the so called Sinhala Buddhism, a form of Anti-Tamil, Anti-West thinking grown out of Anagarika Dharmapala’s preaching.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
China understands this Lanka’s Socialism (Rather Communism) even better than the Lankawe Sinhala Buddhist intellectuals, the strange species, who expound this communist theory. (Any –ism or school of thought is only for long term, for the wellbeing of everyone, not even limited to just human lives, though the end will benefit human lives more than any others). Chinese predict more accurately the UNP & SLFP (Slap Party) Viyathmaga’s’ next moves and sail their boat to meet their goal. It was West and India engineered the regime change in 2015, but it was China benefited out of it. China bought Hangbangtota Port and 5 Villages land from Ranil, but when Ambassador Atul Keshap went to talk about US’s Israel Embassy, Ranil put him out of the office. At the same Trump administration had successfully made three ME countries to exchange diplomatic relationship with Israel. India gave free arms during war with shortsightedness of defeating LTTE, not anything against Tamils and though even negotiating with Sampanthan Ayya to implement 13A. But China constantly supported Government in oppressing Tamils, while selling arms on loan to government and selling Arms to LTTE for hard currency, probably dispatched from North Korean ports. Current State Secretary of US shows much enhanced understanding of Lanka Communism, than the Ex Secretary John Kerry, who declared that Lankawe was turned into democratic path by the regime change.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
Some of the words of Secretary Pompeo words have to be carved on stone and plated with platinum. He said China is a predator, is spreading debt trap on Lankawe. One may ask what the big deal on that those words while three years ago Philippine Vice President had said his country cannot afford to be indebted to China like Lankawe. Here Secretary Pompeo is clearly seeing the loan as weapon, and China’s intention of making Lankawe another Hong Kong or Taiwan. Remember America is many times indebted to China in commercial lines. But here he sees Lankawe’s debt as a military weapon to capture Lankawe. He is seeing this while searching for way to keep Indian Ocean free for Transport and communication networks. This is an indication of Pompeo vision to correct perspectives of understanding the dilemma of redeeming Lankawe to democracy. Lot of water has flown through the culvert from the time Secretary Kerry declared Lankawe and Myanmar are back in democracy. But unlike that time, now, America was awake and aware of all what is happening. At the end Kerry said that Tamils didn’t show patience for the diplomacy work. But Pompeo left concluding Lankawe has an obligation to complete the resolution, which it claims as abandoned. That is the different of Philippine VP’s comment and John Kerry’s victory and Secretary Pompeo’s loss.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
This essay suggests the higher financial reward to Lankawe can convert it towards West. So it is comparing what India & West is giving to Lankawe as grants and what China giving as predatory loan. China, mainly, is giving loans. (Money may not something be able to replace the policy of the mind, hardened by repeated Pirith of Sinhala Buddhism.) Norway negotiated $4.5 Billion donations for reconcile with Tamils. But government didn’t go for that. Japan, even after peace rejected by the government, gave its promised money $2.5 B. But Lanka switched over to Chinese contract one it received all donation money, by 2010. Japan had negotiated a best deal of adding a new light train service, one badly needed for Lankawe, .25% interest, 40 years repayment term with 10 years’ time to earning start. Government rejected and paid penalties on that cancellation. Chinese loans 7-13% interest, with foreclosure term within one or two years, like Hangbangtota. India gave about a billion as free houses, Hospitals, medical aid, cultural aids, Buddhist, Muslim and Hindu temples rebuilding& arms in the recent history. India offered one of the best Free trade deal (ETCA) with Lankawe. China threatened to pull plug off and Lankawe gave up on that. There is no point in trying to exhaust this list.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
A ruling political party has to merge itself into the country fully, for flawless peace, law and order & prosperity. Sinhala Buddhist rulers see two separate elements clearly, while they are on the Chair. 1). They & Family, 2). Country. They see the country a spendable property to the family’s wellbeing, not as a sovereign entity of the citizens. Authors of this essay could not recognize this phenomena when they were recommending matching & beyond China on rewards. Because they failed either to question the purpose of 18A and the 20A or they attempt to explain the needs of those for readers. They just walked over those without seeing or feeling the land mines on democracy. Old Royal government gave the Colombo Pong Cing as sovereign land to China, in the original Contract. Their General Ponny described the situation as if planes to Katunayake fly over that City China may shoot them. Ranil bragged that he had cancelled it but he paid $280 M penalties, Hangbangtota Port plus five Villages of Land for Chinese colonization.
The solution to balance Chinese influence in Indian Ocean is Tamils going alone. Then If China erects missiles in South, Tamils can allow India and America to erect their missiles in North & East. The starting point is “War Crime at UNHRC and passing direct to ICC, by passing UN SC”.
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Eagle Eye / November 1, 2020
Mallaiyuran,
Do you expect Rajapakshes to take seriously the ranting of a guy suffering from inferiority complex due to humiliating defeat faced after bragging that they will never be defeated militarily?
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Since 3rd century BC your lot tried to beat Sinhalayo and FAILED FAILED FAILED!!!. You are just wasting time. No one is taking you seriously.
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SJ / November 1, 2020
EE
The Sinhalayo always got the better of the enemy by defeating themselves before the enemy got there..
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Buddhist1 / November 1, 2020
Is the SL Govt so stupid as not to realize that a single US Aircraft Career would be more useful during a war (or peace) situation, as USA has the full support of India and Maldives behind them today? Has the Govt of SL forgotten that USA is the largest importer of SL products? What will happen in case the US Govt removes concessions on taxes and either imposes additional taxes or places an embargo on SL Products?
Sri Lankan Rajapakse Govt should not allow Chinese Ambassador to make derogatory comments when SL had one of its to US guest which SL Govt has invited in the country. This is an undiplomatic and uncivilized act. It appears Chinese have acted fast by removing and replacing this Ambassador by sending a new one today. If the Chinese Govt has acted so quickly, its shameful for SL Govt not to have made any comment or taken any action regarding this uncalled for comment.
Its true Pompeo made a comment to call China a “Predator”, but to attack the relationship between USA and SL, how strong or weak it could be, is totally unacceptable. It also will appear to the rest of the world that SL did nothing as it agreed with China. Shame on you Gotabaya.
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SJ / November 1, 2020
B1
The last thing that the US wants is to get sucked into a brawl in this potty little island.
It has messed itself up throughout the century by military adventures. Its choice is proxy wars.
China will not get militarily involved.
*
So what is your way to fulfill your wish getting us under US rule?
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
Buddhist1,
During Chitanta government China brought Atomic Submarines three times. India objected. ManMohan Singh could not get it done. During the time of Yahapalanaya , they repeated the request for the call. Ranil was negotiating for the Hangbangtota sales, he strongly objected fearing PM Modi. China backed off to securing Hangbangtota first and berthing the submarines latter. But the things like LC election, NCM, October Revolution, 4/21 all were there, not suitable for China to push another attempt. Though the Galle and Colombo visits were explained as refueling, it is not sure where submarines have been refueled other times, while they are frequently spotted spying in Indian Ocean.
Are you sure he was a new Ambassador guy came the other day? Only thing I understood out of that news was one person was going for 14 days self isolation in Chinese embassy. I didn’t see anyone ceremonially handing over the appointment to EP, PM, or even FM. Yes there was a guy to repair the PCR machines too, in this hullabaloo.
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Eagle Eye / November 1, 2020
Buddhist1,
“Sri Lankan Rajapakse Govt should not allow Chinese Ambassador to make derogatory comments when SL had one of its to US guest which SL Govt has invited in the country. This is an undiplomatic and uncivilized act.”
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I do not think the Government of Sri Lanka have a control on statements made by a foreign Embassy.
Is a high level person in the US Government who was in Sri Lanka as an invited guest making derogatory comments about another country diplomatic and civilized?
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SJ / November 1, 2020
EE
As long as an ambassador does not tell the government what it should or shouldn’t do, things are still in order.
But we had ambassadors who summoned ministers at will, and instructed the government what to do.
The lands that they belonged to have recently signed a defence deal.
May we from now on expect joint orders on whom we should talk to and whom we shouldn’t.
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / November 1, 2020
Dear Folks
All the 5 security Nations In the world does not need our (all the pathetic infighting morons of a third world country toilet washers (TW)) love and due care for their survival please understand.
Nor is required by the C20+++ who are the next level of Masters.
What would be good is to focus on getting the “best deals” from each one of them for the Nation Building activity if you all may want by being a united Nation.
No one has written articles on “each and every family” who lost their love ones ..Soldiers/Gun trotting kids to general public but spent more time on the well being of all these countries/masters where we all wash toilets around the world and what they will do if we not wash their bums too whenever they ask??
In fact you have all killed each other/sacrificed your Nationhood to date for the same should be adequate enough one would have expected….a land like no other….a bunch of pathetic beings.
Wait till all the Nations open up a military base all your woman will be working in all the brothels…..it will be a very cultural f*** too.
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
“Wait till all the Nations open up a military base all your woman will be working in all the brothels…..it will be a very cultural f*** too. “
At last you woke up Thiyagarajah. That is same message I have been telling here daily about Rapist army, who the UN rated as one in 22 nations use rape as weapon. None of the US, UK, China even Indian army suffer by that kind of name. Get the hell out this Rapist Army who is in 3:1 concentration & get a well known Western Army to guard North East to save Tamils culture.
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / November 1, 2020
Dear M
haha..that is not what I said.
Once we have compulsory army service through our new constitution all your concerns will be removed.
It is a shame that we did not do that in the first place since Independence because we had another Mafia in Jaffna killed more than any number of death and destruction historically to Tamils….(we will exclude the details of the 2009 debates for another day).
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Mallaiyuran / November 2, 2020
Thiyagarajah,
“Once we have compulsory army service through our new constitution all your concerns will be removed. “
Yes, I sound like I was wrong. You seem to be didn’t wake up yet as thought. But I tell you, if you build your dream castle to join to Rapist Army and going to a nice Sinhala Village full sudu beauties and having lot of fun, then in that Jihadistic Ranaveeru, service you are not going to get 72, but only the Bohambara rope.
Do you know what happened to the 42 Tamil girls forcefully recruited into the Army in 2012? Some committed suite; some died in metal hospital; some ended marring Sinhala youths as punishment for the boys in Army, and then that band was dismissed, with no pay, no compensation, saying none of them were worth to waste time. When many of them were admitted to hospital, even Deva asked permission to see them. Army did not allow, but put 24/7 guarded to check what kind of complains they were telling to nurses and doctors.
If it is longing too much why don’t you become a Muslim, Sort and sweet, instead of going in Rapist army, drafted? Four, five wives……… concubines, mistresses, escorts, courtesans, keeps ……., 7 to 17…..
(Just don’t keep showing your scale of vengeance to revenge by writing continuously worthless things man. Pls Reconcile.)
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / November 2, 2020
Dear Mr M
Can you kindly point me to the source where you got this from please?? yes it is true I do not know about what happened to the 42 recruits??
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Mallaiyuran / November 2, 2020
Thiyagarajah,
I never was willing to be employed for google search for anybody any time. But for you, this is the first & the last. But remember if you are fancied to be in Rapist Army draft, go for it.
https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/more-tamil-women-recruited-sri-lankan-army.
Then follow their links because it was not one day incident. Probably, while you were partying in London with white girls, spending you dad money, this has been going on for a while.
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Mallaiyuran / November 2, 2020
Without reading news media to know who the hell the Rapist Army is, please don’t write pages and pages of bluff and rubbish.
Thank you.
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SJ / November 1, 2020
TV
I am shocked by your language.
Are you tired of politeness?
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / November 1, 2020
Sorry SJ and the Author too.
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SJ / November 2, 2020
TV
That is very decent of you.
I wish that I could say that of a few more
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KA / November 1, 2020
“Wait till all the Nations open up a military base all your woman will be working in all the brothels…..it will be a very cultural f*** too.”
The Sorri Sinhala will whole heartedly welcome that, and even beg to take their children and men.
I am not saying this, the so called educated Ravi Perera inadvertently admitted to this.
My worry is that the Tamil pimps too will catch on to this, because of travel-and-time-proximity from one part of the Island to any other part.
Mind you it has been going on in Sori Sinhala even after British left in several other forms – the southern tourist resorts and hotspots especially in the so called diplomatic, business etc. interactions with outsider where mostly government is involved, and forcing children into the so called Sinhala Buddhist priesthood, which itself is an blatant abuse of children.
In these interactions, it is always giggling girls who are made to accompany foreigners, and local agents’ (be it government or otherwise) instructions to the foreigners is ‘if you have any questions or want any thing, please request this so and so young girl or lady’.
Contrast this approach to the LTTE’s. The LTTE never allowed girls as accompanists, and even in the rarest occasions, it was within public premises or in the presence of common public.
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Thiagarajah Venugopal / November 1, 2020
Sure KA. I was saying from a geo political point of view and what has happened in several other Asians Nations where foreign military bases were based…is more said in anger we are wasting time on not so productive matters and am not sure we even see eye to eye in this CT bubble as to what Nationhood is etc??
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a14455 / November 1, 2020
Every country that has been taken under US wings has been right royally f cked. US is not a reliable partner for anything right now.
The printing of money done by the US Will have long term consequences for its future. I doubt that even a Biden govt will be able to reverse course.
Is there a single project that the US has done in Sri Lanka that is noteworthy? That is because despite pimp eos big talk they will not put their money in “hell hole” countries like Sri Lanka (Not my words Trumps) That will not change even if Biden Harris comes to power. ( At least Trump is truthful) If they had any intention of doing so they could have done with when the jada palanaya was there,
I think Patrick Mendis is right. but what he wishes for will not happen. and I doubt Maldives will give the US a sofa without risking an IS revoltion.
The country needs good infrastructure . to Attract US or any other nation’s companies. The only nation that will support us and has the capability is China. We should stay with proven friends, not fair-weather buddies.
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soma / November 1, 2020
Not only the government, the people are neutral too.
For everyone understands that we are a small fry.
.
One can be a lender totaly free from any malicious or ultruistic intent – purely utilitarian.
Like commercial banks. If the terms and conditions are agreeable to the borrower the transaction is none of the business of others.
.
‘Debt trap’ is not designed by the lender. It is a hole the borrower knowingly jumps into.
.
If USA is exceedingly worried about the trap we are caught in they can grant us a loan with a concessionary interest rate so that we can settle the Chinese loans and free ourselves from the trap. Isn’t that a clever idea worthy of a Nobel?
.
These days China is also accused of ‘Covid diplomacy’ for prompt supply of PPEs ( personal protection equipment) free of charge.
Here again recipients are free to decline and choose to go to heaven.
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Use your own head. There is lot of bullshit swirling around.
If the big guy says ‘if you are not with me you are against me’ you may be tempted to reconsider your neutrality out of fear. Wait a minute. The other big guy is also saying the same thing.
All things considered the best survival position is neutrality.
.
The only landmass below Sri Lanka is Antarctic.
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Soma
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Eagle Eye / November 1, 2020
The Quad countries want to pull down China but they want to export to China.
India’s exports to China grew 15 per cent in August, with shipments worth $1.68 billion. China has been Australia’s largest trading partner and now accounts for 32.6% of its exports. Japan exports to China worth US$ 144,053 million (19.5%)
What happens if China restrict imports from these countries?
Aren’t they facing a dilemma?
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Does US tell these countries to sever ties with China?
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SJ / November 1, 2020
EE
Can the US afford it despite its big talk?
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Mallaiyuran / November 1, 2020
Bald Eagle, is that Bald Heads’ Central Bank Statistics?
Do you know Lankawe export to US $2-3 B and slave girls bring to Lankawe $7-8B.
Read news papers; there is US started trade challenges (if not trade war) between US and China. Instead of spending too much time in CT, as a relief to Lankawe import control and International sanctions, start to plugh your backyard.
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a14455 / November 2, 2020
if anyone is spending too much time on CT it is you dumbass. writing your harangues which no one reads.
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SJ / November 2, 2020
Et tu a14455
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Mallaiyuran / November 3, 2020
” which no one reads “
Hey Moda Chinkalam,
I write Harangue, you pretend you didn’t read it. Anyway you are not going to help Tamils to get their land back, by reading it. isn’t it? So, lets keep it at that level until we (Tamils) get back our land. Less pain for both of us (Sinhalese and Tamils).
Okay?
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Rajash / November 3, 2020
Will The US Counterbalance China’s Growing Influence In Sri Lanka?
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you mean have a US/India base in NE and bomb Chinese Hambantota?
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it may well happen! only time will tell!
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