Sri Lanka will not take sides between China and India, nor will it do anything to harm either country, the island’s top diplomat said, amid concerns that countries in the region could get caught in the crossfire of intensifying tensions between the Asian powers.
“We want India and China to talk to each other and resolve their differences and that will be better for both countries, better for the world,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, said in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.
Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have been deteriorating since their border clashes in the Himalayas turned deadly in 2020, raising fears that tensions could spill beyond the contested region.
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Sri Lanka was drawn into the dispute last summer, when India lodged a verbal protest over its agreement for a People’s Liberation Army naval vessel’s planned visit to Hambantota.
New Delhi is concerned that the Chinese-built and leased port in Sri Lanka, strategically positioned at the top of the Indian Ocean, could be used by Beijing as a military base in India’s backyard.
Disagreements have continued to mount, with China and India ejecting most of each other’s journalists in a tit-for-tat row earlier this month.
And, in a move that may further upset Beijing, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week signed agreements in Washington that will enable India to build engines for its next-generation indigenous fighter jets.
During his state visit to Washington, Modi also signed India on to the Artemis Accords, a US-led legal framework to govern behaviour on the moon and the peaceful use of space.
Neither China nor Russia are signatories to the accords, which are widely seen as part of a US attempt to build an alliance in space as part of its rivalry with Beijing.
Speaking at the Sri Lankan embassy in Beijing on Wednesday, Sabry said his country would remain neutral between its closest neighbour India and China, a top source of foreign investment.
“We have made it very clear to both China and India that we are open to do business with anyone and we will not do anything to harm the other party,” he said.
Sabry, who was finance minister at the start of Sri Lanka’s economic crisis last year, also said he was confident the government would be able to finalise its debt restructure negotiations by September.
Sri Lanka, with a population of 22 million, failed to repay its enormous foreign loans for the first time since its independence from Britain in 1948 after the unprecedented economic crisis.
Sabry said the Sri Lankan government was reflecting on the policy mistakes that led to the economic and political turmoil.
Sri Lanka is in talks with India, Japan and France under a common platform for its debt restructuring programme. China, which holds about 10 per cent of the island’s total foreign debt, is in bilateral talks with the island nation.
Sabry said it was not a surprise that China did not take part in the common debt restructure platform, citing “concerns” from Beijing.
“We understand different countries have their own priorities and interests, and we are thankful to China for continuing to talk to us and be good to us,” he said.
As its economy stabilises, Sri Lanka is also looking for investment and trade to turn around its struggling prospects.
Last month, President Ranil Wickremesinghe suggested that his country would apply for membership of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a free-trade agreement between 15 Asia-Pacific economies, including China and Australia.
According to Sabry, Sri Lanka also sent an invitation to Beijing “some time ago” to resume bilateral trade agreement talks. “Hopefully we will agree on the date very soon and start negotiating,” he said.
Sabry said Sri Lanka had no preference between RCEP membership and an agreement with China.
“RCEP and a bilateral free trade agreement can go hand in hand. China is very important for us that we want to start the negotiations with China and conclude that as soon as possible,” he said.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP’s Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2023 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Source: Yahoo News
