{"id":144476,"date":"2024-09-26T16:22:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T23:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=144476"},"modified":"2024-09-26T16:22:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T23:22:12","slug":"heres-why-biden-gave-a-shoutout-to-sri-lankas-new-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2024\/09\/26\/heres-why-biden-gave-a-shoutout-to-sri-lankas-new-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s Why Biden Gave a Shoutout to Sri Lanka\u2019s New President"},"content":{"rendered":"

By<\/span>\u00a0Arif Rafiq<\/a> Courtesy Globely News<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

President Joe Biden congratulated President Dissanayake on taking office, reflecting Sri Lanka’s strategic importance in the competition between the U.S. and China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President\u00a0Joe Biden<\/a>\u00a0took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday to\u00a0congratulate<\/a>\u00a0Sri Lanka\u2019s new president\u00a0Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/a>\u00a0on his election to office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka<\/a> is a small island country with a population of 22 million. But it is very much at the center of the U.S.-China rivalry<\/a> geographically and otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Sri Lanka Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Located in the northern Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka sits along a major maritime shipping route between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. Due to its depth, location, and efficiency, Sri Lanka\u2019s port of Colombo is a transshipment hub. Goods are offloaded from smaller ships from feeder ports and loaded onto larger ones destined for megaports like Dubai \u2014 and vice versa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka is home to several Chinese-operated ports. One of those, located in the southern city of Hambantota, is seen as a white elephant. A vanity project pushed by a previous Sri Lankan president, it\u2019s used as an example of China\u2019s alleged debt-trap diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s detractors claim that it drowns developing countries in debt to gain strategic concessions, like basing rights, in exchange for debt forgiveness or restructuring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chinese-operated Sri Lankan ports in Colombo and Hambantota have long been rumored as potential sites for future People\u2019s Liberation Army Navy bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka remains in economic distress after its default in 2022, which sent inflation through the roof and forced the resignation of its president. Reckless borrowing from China is part of that picture, but private bondholders are Sri Lanka\u2019s largest creditors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Aims in Sri Lanka<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The United States wants to wean Sri Lanka off its dependence on China \u2014 and not just because of its strategic location. Washington seeks to demonstrate that it can be a better development partner for countries like Sri Lanka. It\u2019s partnering with like-minded countries through initiatives such as the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment<\/a> (PGII) to offer what it says is a more transparent, less extractive, and non-corrupt alternative to China\u2019s Belt and Road Initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are numerous problems with the China debt-trap narrative. For starters, it\u2019s simplistic. China does indeed employ its financial largesse with dependent countries, but both as a carrot and a stick. Its approach isn\u2019t always coherent. And the debt trap goes both ways. Chinese development banks are saddled with bad loans. Arrears are mounting. They\u2019re not getting paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, China is not unique in using its pursestrings as geopolitical leverage. India too has done the same in countries like Sri Lanka. The U.S. is sullying its own reputation by\u00a0partnering with the corrupt Indian conglomerate<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Adani Group<\/a>\u00a0in Sri Lanka. Washington is financing the construction of an Adani container terminal in the Colombo port. That project is\u00a0controversial for a number of reasons<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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