During a discussion held last February by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on American foreign policy toward South Asia, Committee Chairman Bill Huizenga highlighted how critical Sri Lanka and the Maldives are to both the global economy and U.S. national security. Responding to him, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Paul Kapur noted that Sri Lanka and the Maldives, despite being small ocean states, occupy strategically significant geographic locations.
Chairman Huizenga then pointed out that 75 per cent of the world’s oil shipments pass within a few miles of Sri Lanka’s southern coastline. Kapur added that nearly half of the world’s container traffic moves along this same sea lane, making these countries vital nodes in the global economy. The discussion also touched on the Hambantota Port, with Kapur arguing that Sri Lanka’s freedom of action had been constrained by Chinese influence following the decision to lease the port to China for 99 years.
Kapur’s visit to Sri Lanka should be viewed within this broader context. Before his arrival, the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces, Kevin Schneider, visited Sri Lanka. The U.S. Embassy in Colombo stated that Schneider’s visit reflected the growing strength of the Sri Lanka–U.S. security partnership. Kapur’s arrival during Schneider’s visit further underscores the deepening and expanding nature of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Last week, during a meeting with the Minister of Ports, the World Bank’s country manager reportedly observed that the conflict in the Middle East had drawn global attention to the Port of Colombo. Earlier, the U.S. Ambassador to India and President Trump’s special representative, Sergio Gor, visited Sri Lanka and conducted an inspection tour of the Port of Colombo. Meanwhile, sources say that Kapur, who arrived in Sri Lanka this week, has undertaken a similar inspection visit to the port.
Before the arrival of the U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander and Kapur, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong visited the JVP headquarters in Pelawatte and met JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva. During the meeting, the ambassador presented him with the English translation of Volume Five of The Governance of China, authored by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Some time ago, after returning from a visit to China, Tilvin Silva spoke appreciatively about China’s system of governance. He also revealed that Chinese officials he met had suggested that Sri Lanka should consider adopting a similar model of governance.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader Sajith Premadasa said in parliament that the government plans to privatise Colombo Port’s east terminal. It is not known if Kapur’s visit has a bearing on this.
