During the 1971 rebellion Prime Minister Mrs. Sririmao Bandaranayake and her Sri Lankan Government had a great suspicion that China helped the JVP.
She was doubtful of the Chinese ship with weapons anchored in the port of Colombo on the day the rebellion started. Later the ship disappeared from the port of Colombo. At the time of the rebellion, Prime Minister Mrs. Bandaranaike ordered the diplomatic officers of the North Korean Embassy to leave the country saying that they supported the rebels. The Chinese ambassador had gone to the airport to bid goodbye to the officials when they left the country. After the failure of the rebellion, the Chinese President wrote a letter to Mrs. Bandaranaike and pointed out that her understanding that China had helped the Janata Vimukthi Peramuna during the rebellion was wrong.
During the time of 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka peace agreement, the government had no information to say whether China supported the anti-Indian Janata Vimukthi Peramuna. But since 1971, China had a good relationship with Janata Vimukti Peramuna which they maintain even today. The former leader of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, Somawansa Amarasinghe, had also signed an agreement with the Chinese Communist Party. Even after Anura Kumara became the leader of that party, the same agreement was maintained. Before going to India, Anura went to China incognito and met representatives of the Chinese government. JVP did not give much publicity to its dealings with China. They made a great effort to show the country through the media that they have close relations with India and Western countries. China also did not make much effort to show the relationship between itself and JVP. But from an article published in the South China Morning Post last week, it seemed that China has high hopes for JVP- NPP during this presidential election. Below is part of that article.
“The potential rise of the NPP, however, has Delhi on edge. Its fiercely anti-India platform and its close ties to China are seen as a major thorn in the side of India, according to Harindra B Dissanayake, an analyst at Muragala Centre for Progressive Politics and Policy in Sri Lanka.
“India will be compelled to be cautious with a potential NPP leadership, while China will see it as an opportunity to increase their presence in the region,” he said.
Samaranayake echoed this sentiment, noting that the NPP would represent “a new and uncertain dynamic for India to manage in its external relations”. Sri Lanka has long prioritised its domestic interests over the whims of its neighbours, but often pulls back if that means upsetting India’s regional threat perceptions, Samaranayake said – citing Colombo’s move to ban foreign research vessels from its ports amid Indian concerns over Chinese activities.
“This reflects the asymmetry of power for a smaller state, navigating the dominant country in its region,” she said. “If the NPP wins, this will be a new development in Sri Lanka’s history that observers will need to track for potential shifts in the country’s external approach.”
China thinks that if Anura Kumara Dissanayake wins, the pro-India policy shown by Gotabaya and Ranil Wickremesinghe’s governments will change. Although Anura Kumara Dissanayake is not an anti-Indian leader, it is not easy for Anura Kumara Dissanayake to change the anti-Indian ideology within the JVP. China must be hoping for that
