No free Chinese takeaway but Chinese takeover on the menu
Sunday, April 10, 2016
There is no such thing as a free Chinese takeaway; and, if the visiting Lankan high powered delegation led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe fancied otherwise, the Chinese hosts made pretty certain the guests got the message crystal clear when the fortune cookie, opened after the diplomatic feast of niceties was over, revealed the thumping bill of fare.
FRIENDS AGAIN BUT ON WHAT TERMS?: Visiting Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with China’s President Xi Jinping at Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Friday.
In a special report published in China’s state owned Global Times on Thursday, the article warned that Pakistan could no longer provide China a strong foothold due to its “calamitous state” of security and ominously stated that, as a result, Lanka was of great strategic importance to China.
“Currently, the China-funded constructions in Pakistan cannot serve as a strong foothold for China, given the calamitous state of Pakistan’s security. Sri Lanka can be of great importance for China in the security strategic layout in the Indian Ocean. It will not only provide security assurances for nearby navigation channels, but will also promote the 21st Maritime Silk Road,” the Globe Times stated on the day the Lankan Prime Minister was to kick of his begging mission in Beijing where he was expected to ask the Chinese government to waive off certain loans and restructure some of the $8 billion Chinese debt.
This was the first time that Beijing had underscored its concerns and publicly made plain that its interest in Lanka went beyond mere trade gains. There was no mistaking the siren blare of the Chinese government authorised report when it stated the great importance of Lanka for China in ‘the security strategic layout in the Indian Ocean’. This was not a Chinese takeaway but a Chinese takeover. To further her strategic security aims in the region, China will provide assistance was the underlining message. With the Lankans’ clamour for alms rising in Tiananmen Square, China conveyed through its print media what it expected as its quid pro quo. They knew they had Lanka by the short and curlies.
