India Tells Sri Lanka: You Can Take Your Port And Shove It
Posted on January 22nd, 2017
Wade Shepard CONTRIBUTOR Courtesy Forbes.com
Last Wednesday, January 18th, Sri Lanka’s minister for regional development, Sarath Fonseka, told journalists at a conference in New Delhi that terms were being discussed to give Sri Lanka’s northeastern Trincomalee port to India. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe reportedly vouched for the veracity of the remarks on the sidelines of Davos. But by Friday India was denying them, stating that they had no interest in taking on a fledgling port that wouldn’t be profitable for a very long time.
The offer of Trincomalee port to India was a move designed to offset India’s very outspoken reservations about the amount of Chinese economic and political power that is being consolidated right off their coastlines. To salve India’s fears that some of these Chinese projects could someday have military implications, Sri Lanka attests that they are not partial to any one country in particular when it comes to investment and are willing to do business with a wide array of potential suitors — be they from India, the USA, Japan, Singapore, or China. India was never overtly excluded from any major Chinese-led development project in Sri Lanka, and for some, such as Colombo Financial City, the Hambantota port, and the projected Hambantota industrial zone, they have actually been invited in.
While India has shown inclinations to invest large amounts of money in Sri Lanka — just a few months ago India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that they would be pumping $2 billion into Sri Lankan infrastructure development — they haven’t exactly jumped right in to make good on this offer. India has its own infrastructure challenges at home, they have a dire need to modernize their own ports, and taking on Sri Lanka’s port at Trincomalee does not appear to be on their near-term to-do list.
Full Report
January 22nd, 2017 at 1:12 pm
Great!
Only PARAGATHI Gonseka wants to “give” Trincomalee Port, the largest deepest natural harbor in South Asia to India.
ALL of us KNOW the TRAITOR Gonseka who netrayed Sri Lanka to the West and the ICC, is salivating at the prospect of SOMEHOW becoming President! So, what Gonseka says ….. DOES NOT COUNT, DOES NOT BIND the people and the nation of Sri Lanka.
We Sri Lankans have a few words for India as well: TAKE YOUR BIG BULLY MONEY & SHOVE IT …. WHERE THE SUN DON’T SHINE!
Indian SOUR GRAPES …. We are SOO GLAD!
We will KEEP OUR PORT and DEVELOP IT OURSELVES with the help of China into a highly profitable ship manufacturing, ship repairing, and petroleum storage and processing port and navy base!
Oh, before I forget, we will TAKE Our Oil Tank Farm BACK TOO!
January 22nd, 2017 at 1:24 pm
ALL Ports of Lanka (Sea & Air) ought to be for PEACEFUL PURPOSES ONLY, by the Law of the Land.
January 22nd, 2017 at 2:26 pm
If so, thank you. But we know you have this covered under 13th Ammendment. Sri Lanka cannot do anything near Trinco harbour with out Indian permission.
January 22nd, 2017 at 5:21 pm
Looks like we have got the wrong end of the stick again (as with Hambantota protests in 2017). Actually, we should be proud of Sri Lanka’s new (unbelievable) bold stand. It is common knowledge Sarath Fonseka is a mismatch at the Raisina Dialogue. It is a projection of Indian hegemony attended by important people who indirectly shape economic and geopolitical policy of countries. Why did Sri Lanka send a person completely ignorant of geopolitics and economics to this? Sending Fonseka was an insult to the Raisina Dialogue!
That is exactly what it is. Raisina Dialogue is organised by India and started last year to counter China’s growing economic clout in Asia. However, even in that many speakers (including Chandrika) pointed out the need to see China as an opportunity not a threat. Sri Lanka’s position towards China changed drastically since then. In addition, India deliberately planned this to coincide with the Davos conference where China was expected to (and actually did) steal the show. Raisina Dialogue was organised to project poor left-behind India as a worthy counter to China. Hilarious indeed.
By sending Fonseka, and not sending any of the head of the state personalities, Sri Lanka sent a powerful signal to India that it will not play by Indian geopolitical games. Bangladesh followed this same strategy.
I think Fonseka was trying to assume some self-importance by spilling the beans (or inventing something else). For that he was grilled by the CID for 5 hours over the stale Lasantha affair. This is a common practice of this government. Anyone it wants silenced is grilled by the CID, FCID, etc.
This is another event of a series of action Sri Lanka has taken since 2016 disregarding Indian dictates (Port City, Hambantota, Moragahakanda, the proposed kidney research institute, making a mockery of the Raisina Dialogue by sending a joker, continuing navy action against Indian poachers, approaching China’s AIIB for more loans at the Davos conference though rejected, approaching China’s Jack Ma for the development of direct small-scale sales, Muttetuwegama Report blaming IPKF for war crimes which LLRC and other reports dismally failed, etc.).
At last, the government elected with Indian help seems to have realised it has no future with India. A very good and bold indication that must be supported by all. Not the government but its bold action against Indian dictates.
I sincerely hope that the Opposition will not play politics with this and side with India. This is what always happened. When the government takes bold decisions against Indian dictates, the Opposition opportunistically becomes the Indian agent in the island. We must keep our senses open to detect any sign the Opposition making gestures towards India. One key foreign affairs commentator (a great human being by any standard though) of the JO is an Indian citizen who lived in India for a year until July 1987 (until the Accord gave them a common amnesty). He was hiding in India fearing the JR Regime (anti-Indian), not the JVP as he states because the JVP (Deshavimukti Janatha Vyaparaya) started killing pro-Indians only after July 1987, not before!
January 22nd, 2017 at 5:22 pm
@Kumari
Indo-Lanka Peace Accord (1987), not 13A. That prevents us from doing anything inimical to Indian interests (as decided by India). Essentially, Sri Lanka is an Indian satellite state since 1987. Only LTTE resisted it (1987 to 2009) and after its demise, the entire Lankan territory is an Indian satellite state since 2009. All our leaders are protective of 13A (a product of the Accord) so it is a waste of time even to think of abrogating the Accord.
January 22nd, 2017 at 6:50 pm
FANTASTIC!
SL should lease TRINCO and KKS ports to CHINA!!
January 22nd, 2017 at 7:20 pm
Dear Patriots,
I don’t trust any of these statements from India. It has not been declared officially by some authority. Some Indian official has told it and they play according to the game plans of RAW. Even the Forbes writer could have been bribed by RAW to make it more glitter.
This will cool down our public sentiment and ECTA and the Hanuman Bridge will easily get materialised un-noticed.. Please do not be complacent.
Gonseka is in RAW’s pay role and he has stirred up the issue according to RAW’s wish and this paper article.. which is again probably published by RAW will on surface kill the issue for ever, in our public mind. Then as usual, “Sinhala Modayas” will forget about ECTA and the Bridge and be busy with the day to day work and Teledramas at the evening.
We have to be very cautious and warn the people to watch the space..
January 22nd, 2017 at 7:34 pm
What India is saying is: We got the island where the Sinhalese are.
January 22nd, 2017 at 10:33 pm
Hiranthe may be RIGHT.
These parasites may GET TRINCO by another way.
Gonzeka was only testing the waters.
January 22nd, 2017 at 10:56 pm
Gonzeka as LYING through his backside when he said when he was in prison his wife was given only 1 time to bring him food whereas other prisoners got 3 times food from home!!!
ANOMA brought food for him only once. That too she had to put up with his VERBAL abuse. Physical abuse was stopped by guards!!! For the other 2 times he was given food from FLOWER DRUM restaurant, Colombo 7!!! Sometimes from GALADARI!!
When he said NO AC we moved him to a AC cell. When he said NO HOT WATER we gave him hot water.
What an UNGRATEFUL liar!!
Who appointed a RETIRING AGE army commander to serve?
After blaming LASANTHA modaya, pissa, booruwa, kelevedda, mugadiya, eluwa for exposing his $400,000 BENZ he says GR killed him!!!
Lasantha blamed GR for KEEPING SF!!!
So GR white vanned people???
What did KEITH NOYAR write against GR?? Nothing.
He got abducted AFTER he wrote DEBACLE for the Muhamalai debacle of SF!!!
So GR was away from war for 15 years??? He retired you fool after an excellent service.
But who was AWAY from war when it started in 2006 and when it ended in 2009? Who was trying to go to USA while serving as army commander?
Who is the shameless idiot to CREEP into parliament through the BACK DOOR after LOSING all districts at the election?