{"id":66362,"date":"2017-05-22T17:02:49","date_gmt":"2017-05-23T00:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=66362"},"modified":"2017-08-19T16:35:31","modified_gmt":"2017-08-19T23:35:31","slug":"yahapalana-and-india-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2017\/05\/22\/yahapalana-and-india-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"YAHAPALANA AND INDIA Part 4"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

India\u00a0\u00a0 has regional ambitions and is alarmed by the arrival of China, the emerging superpower,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 into what India considers to be India\u2019s sphere of influence. China is entering the Indian Ocean with its OBOR. Also China says it is a part of South Asia, it shares borders with Pakistan, India and Nepal.<\/p>\n

China has never been frightened of India. China sees India as a land of irreconcilable socio-religious cleavages, unstable polity and weak leadership. \u2018TIME\u2019 says China views India with disdain. China thinks India can be easily dissolved into its composite, regional parts.<\/p>\n

In the last three decades, China has overtaken India in economic performance. The Indian economy is one fifth of China and the defence budget is way below.\u00a0 In 2011, admirers said India has a superior economic model to China. Its companies are very strong, better managed than China\u2019s.\u00a0 It has Infosys, Tata and Wipro, which dominate the off shore IT service industry. India operates core manufacturing and service business in advanced economies and Indian managers can compete with foreign top CEOs in the most demanding markets.<\/p>\n

One year later, in 2012, Murthy, Founder of Infosys, said that the world expected a lot of us, but we have fallen far short of the expectations. Earlier chief executives mentioned India once every three time China was mentioned, now if China is mentioned 30 times, India is not mentioned even once.<\/p>\n

India is now\u00a0\u00a0 in danger of being outrun in its own neighborhood. China has undertaken large-scale port development projects in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka as part of its String of Pearls\u201d strategy. These pearls are a necklace\u00a0 of naval choke points around India.\u00a0 The Indian Navy holds an edge at present but it may not for long, as China is rapidly developing its naval power, said retired Major General Karkar. Agni V is no surprise to China either. India has been working on developing this capacity for a number of decades. China possesses nuclear capability to target most Indian cities.<\/p>\n

China is now militarily active in the Indian Ocean. China and Nepal began their first-ever joint military exercises in April 2017. The Chinese Minister of Defense was present as the inauguration.\u00a0China is selling weapons to countries that surround India, Pakistan has recently purchased eight Chinese-made submarines, while Bangladesh bought two. These submarines will,\u00a0 regulate India\u2019s naval activities because the Indian Navy must have sufficient ships to maintain regular oversight over the locations and purposes of other countries submarines, said observers. India objected to Sri Lanka purchasing a Chinese built JY-11 3Dradar system in 2007,\u00a0 on the grounds that it would \u2018overarch\u2019 into Indian air space.<\/p>\n

India has decided to \u2018oppose\u2019 China. India boycotted China\u2019s One Belt One Road (OBOR) summit in Beijing in May 2017. India announced that it has “serious reservations” about China\u2019s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) plan. India had earlier protested to Beijing over the USD 46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), \u00a0saying it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and violates India\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity. However, India has prudently joined the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor.<\/p>\n

India is \u00a0deeply concerned about China\u2019s \u00a0\u00a0cozy relationship with Sri Lanka. India fears that China will win over Sri Lanka\u00a0 \u00a0and therefore does not want Sri Lanka to have anything to do with China. India\u2019s National Security Adviser,\u00a0 Doval wanted all Chinese funded infrastructure projects stopped.\u00a0 He had said so on several occasions to the former Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa. \u00a0India\u00a0\u00a0 says China is carrying out “military intervention in the guise of trade”.<\/p>\n

India wanted\u00a0 the Port City project \u00a0\u00a0stopped.\u00a0 A Chinese presence in Colombo port was a threat to India\u2019s security.\u00a0 India \u00a0also demanded that Sri Lanka take over Colombo International Container Terminals Limited (CICT), a joint venture between China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPH) and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA). India is greatly alarmed by the current Yahapalana deal with China on the Hambantota Port. India\u00a0\u00a0 wants Sri Lanka to have full control of Hambantota port.<\/p>\n

The two visits of Chinese submarines\u00a0 to the Colombo harbor during the Rajapakse government\u00a0 greatly upset India. The explanation that the submarines were on their way to the eastern Indian Ocean to join in anti piracy activity and were routine calls on Colombo did not improve matters.\u00a0 There were diplomatic protests from India when \u00a0the first Chinese submarine \u00a0docked at the International Container Terminal in the Colombo Port in November 2014. India had not been notified. Indo Lanka agreement of 1987 had included a promise that Sri Lanka would not let foreign powers use its ports for military use in a way prejudicial to India.<\/p>\n

Now another problem has arisen. India plans to sign a new FTA with Sri Lanka, known as the ECTA. But it appears that China is also going to sign a FTA with Sri Lanka . India wants to know the details of the\u00a0 Chinese FTA. Chinese companies setting up manufacturing bases in Hambantota and Monaragala could use the Indian ECTA to push Chinese goods into India.<\/p>\n

India \u00a0has \u00a0shown arrogance towards\u00a0 Sri Lanka .Indian National Security adviser Doval had told Wijedasa Rajapakse in 2016, \u2018Sri Lanka is a small country. You don\u2019t need such development projects. At CHOGM in 2013 when bilateral talks were taking place between India and Sri Lanka, the\u00a0 Indian delegates had suggested that Sri Lanka cancel the Tuesday night dinner scheduled for visiting official delegations, in order\u00a0 to continue the talks with India. Sri Lanka had flatly refused to do so.<\/p>\n

But now, in 2017, with China getting\u00a0 a firm hold\u00a0 in Sri Lanka , India\u00a0 finds that it has to change its tune.\u00a0 \u00a0In addition to showing arrogance and asserting its superiority, India now \u00a0has to woo and placate Sri Lanka as well.\u00a0 It is now singing a second song alongside the first.\u00a0 The relationship between our two countries is more than 2500 years old, burbled India. There is a long legacy of intellectual, cultural, religious and linguistic exchange. There is a common heritage.<\/p>\n

Examples of cultural support \u00a0were provided. \u2018We have participated in the setting up of the International Buddhist Museum in Kandy, following the setting up of a similar institution at Dalada Maligawa, and the restoration of the Thirukeeteswaram Temple in Mannar. The Kapilavastu Relics were brought to Sri Lanka in 2012 by the Indian government.\u2019 Several wrong historical facts were added , that the \u2018Lanka\u2019 in the Ramayana is Sri Lanka \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and\u00a0 that Odissi and Udarata dance are similar.<\/p>\n

India said, truthfully, \u2018There are some concerns that China\u2019s interest in the Indian Ocean would undermine our own historical links and cultural ties built over centuries. What we offer is not a roar of a super power but certainly something better than being one among the several jewels, pearls or otherwise of another country\u2019s geopolitical miscalculations.\u2019\u00a0 India also added that in ancient times, relations with China have not been good. Cheng Ho had captured the Sinhala king and taken him to China. This was\u00a0 immediately challenged by the Sri Lankan intelligentsia, who gave the correct interpretation.<\/p>\n

The media observed that no Indian Prime Minister had visited Sri Lanka in the past 28 years. The last visit was in 1987. But the current\u00a0 Indian Prime Minister Modi has visited twice , in March 2015\u00a0 and\u00a0 May 2017. The second visit has been described as \u2018a charm offensive as New Delhi seeks to reassert its influence on the island amid signs of a Chinese comeback\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Last time Modi visited Sri Lanka, he made a highly symbolic trip to the war-ravaged north in a demonstration of support for Sri Lanka\u2019s mostly Hindu Tamil minority, who share close cultural and religious ties with counterparts living in southern India. This time, he will be guest of honor at a major Buddhist festival, a move seen as aimed at winning the support of the Sinhalese majority, many of who are suspicious of India, said the media before the second visit. For Modi to visit again so soon is clearly an expression of India\u2019s concerns about China\u2019s deepening economic roots in Sri Lanka and the potential strategic, even military, advantages this might ultimately bring, the media added.<\/p>\n

As usual India blundered.\u00a0 In his\u00a0 Wesak speech Modi said that India\u2019s and Sri Lanka\u2019s \u2018security is indivisible\u2019 and this annoyed many people. After Modi came and went, Udaya Gammanpila observed that Modi had utilized \u00a0the international Vesak Day celebrations to deliver a political speech in which he stepped up pressure on Sri Lanka. Premier Modi\u2019s assertion that Sri Lanka\u2019s security couldn\u2019t be separated from that of India wasn\u2019t\u00a0 acceptable. Further,\u00a0 Modi had declared at Dickoya, Indian plans to\u00a0 provide 10,000 housing units for plantation workers and the extension of the\u00a0 ambulance service\u00a0 presently confined to Western and Southern Provinces to\u00a0 the rest of Sri Lanka . PM Modi acted as if he was addressing people of newly established Indian state in the presence of President Sirisena and PM Wickremasinghe, concluded Gammanpila.<\/p>\n

India has now realized that it cannot go it alone in\u00a0 the Indian Ocean. It needs support. It has now \u00a0linked with USA, though USA is on the decline. US President Trump and\u00a0 India\u2019s Prime Minister Modi\u00a0 have resolved that the \u2018US and India stand shoulder to shoulder in the global fight against terrorism.\u2019\u00a0 Trump\u00a0 said the\u00a0US considers India “a true friend and partner in addressing challenges around the world.”<\/p>\n

On taking office, Trump had\u00a0\u00a0 called New Delhi before calling Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo or any of the European capitals. Modi is listed as one of the\u00a0 TIME\u2019s 100 most influential people for 2017 and his name appears on the cover of the magazine too. The five Indian-American Congress members in the USA were nominated to influential Congressional panels. There are huge US investments in India.<\/p>\n

This India-US link is nothing new. Indian Prime Minister Nehru had written to USA and UK during the India-China war of 1962, asking for\u00a0\u00a0 military assistance. Nehru asked for 350 combat aircraft with crews, almost a separate air force of its own.\u00a0\u00a0 US President Kennedy had planned to give India a USD 500 million military aid package which included an US-India air defense progamme and aid to developing armed divisions for the Himalayas.\u00a0 The India-USA link did not end there. It is now known\u00a0 that USA\u00a0 was involved in the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987.<\/p>\n

There are several military agreements between India and USA \u00a0today. India and USA have agreed to give access to each other\u2019s military bases. They can make changes to each other\u2019s facilities in a way that it allows for easier conduct of military exercises and cooperation pertaining to geospatial intelligence requiring sharing information on maps and satellite imaging for defence purposes. There is a special unit in Pentagon for India, and\u00a0\u00a0 Indian Defence minister Parrikar had visited Washington six times in 2016 to discuss matters. There are also agreements on nuclear facilities and joint naval exercise with US.<\/p>\n

There have been hiccups. USA said in 2010 that India will be a net provider of security in the Indian Ocean and\u00a0 beyond, once its military capabilities are increased. India can do so in cooperation with USA.\u00a0 But India at that time, said\u00a0 it does not want this role. USA ignored this.<\/p>\n

India will play a critical role in resolving global challenges, said John Kerry at\u00a0 the Indian institute of Technology, Delhi in 2016. US Pacific Command chief\u00a0 visited India in 2016 \u00a0and spoke of a quadrilateral security dialogue between India, Japan, Australia and USA. But India\u00a0 refused\u00a0 this too. India\u00a0 also\u00a0 rejected a US proposal for joint patrolling of Asia-Pacific region to counter China.\u00a0 India will participate in joint naval exercises, that is all.<\/p>\n

But in April 2017, Gen H.R. McMaster, US National Security advisor visited India, emphasized the importance of US-India strategic relationship and reaffirmed India’s designation as a major defence partner. Prime Minister Modi spoke of the importance attached by both sides to the strategic partnership and to stepping up India-US engagements across the board.<\/p>\n

All these developments point to ominous prospects for the future of the South Asian region, said Kamal Wickremasinghe , with India propping up the declining economic power of America, possibly with the help of UK and other European countries,.\u00a0 Facing them will be Pakistan, backed by the growing economic might and the strength of union between China and Russia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS India\u00a0\u00a0 has regional ambitions and is alarmed by the arrival of China, the emerging superpower,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 into what India considers to be India\u2019s sphere of influence. China is entering the Indian Ocean with its OBOR. Also China says it is a part of South Asia, it shares borders with Pakistan, India and Nepal. China […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=66362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66362\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=66362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=66362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=66362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}