Dilrook Kannangara

A wrong view is circulated by some claiming that China, BRICS or the New Development Bank of BRICS would help Sri Lanka. They don’t and they shouldn’t. For very good reasons.

Over 81% of Sri Lanka’s loan creditors are in NATO-QUAD military alliance countries or those countries themselves!

NATO includes USA, UK, France, Germany, Austria, Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Norway.

QUAD includes USA, India, Japan and Australia.

Over 81% of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt is held by these countries. They are the reason for Sri Lanka’s debt trap.

If Sri Lanka does not repay its loans, 81% of the sufferers are in those countries. Any financial help offered to Sri Lanka will be swiftly grabbed by these glutinous loan holders. China, Russia, Iran, BRICS nations (India is a reluctant BRICS partner and as usual plays both sides) wish for the economic ruination of NATO-QUAD nations, not their economic prosperity. For this reason, no other country, certainly not China, Russia or BRICS would help Sri Lanka repay its loans.

If Sri Lanka wants to seek China’s or BRICS help, the island nation must first get its house in order – scrap and default on all its loans payable to persons, corporations, entities and governments of NATO-QUAD nations. That is over 81% of Sri Lanka’s foreign debt. After that happens Sri Lanka’s cries for help will be heard by China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and BRICS. Certainly not otherwise.

What happens with Sri Lanka is a Western ploy led by France to ruin BRICS by transferring their useless loans to BRICS. NATO-QUAD nations are holding Sri Lanka hostage as a vassal state and forcing it to repay their loans by borrowing that money from China and BRICS.

This is not an unusual ploy. It is the business model of a lucrative trade in Sri Lanka. Beggars are left in streets by organized businessmen in the morning to beg for money from sympathetic people. In the evening a ransom (most of their collection) is collected from them. If they earn the stipulated amount, they are rewarded with a shower, sleeping and other facilities at night. If not, they are punished. These hapless people have once fallen into the debt trap of unscrupulous businessmen borrowing petty sums of money to help end meet. They are kept as bonded slaves for life. Even their children are not spared. This is exactly what France-led (including Paris Club) Western nations are doing to Sri Lanka.

Hoping that China or BRICS nations would fall for this trap out of sympathy or any other reason is naïve.