Foreign Ministry summoning Chinese ambassador

 

Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang with Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena (File photo)

By K. Godage-November 13, 2016, 7:52 pm 

Former Ambassador

(godage@gmail.com)

The writer is both shocked and surprised that the government has apparently taken exception to a statement made by Chinese Ambassador in Colombo, Yi Xianliang, at a recent press briefing. It was reported that he had, in response to a question, stated that corruption allegations were Sri Lanka’s problem and that the Chinese government need not accept responsibility. I presume the question was asked because it is alleged that in almost all project costs have been inflated to bribe certain politicians and that we the unfortunate taxpayers are being cheated. If a Chinese government owned corporation has been involved then most definitely it has to take the responsibility for this situation, but if it is an independent Chinese company, in today’s ‘new China’ (there are many such entities) their government cannot be held responsible for their faults. Incidentally, the Chinese government is also in the process of cracking down on corruption and many senior politicians have been taken to task. The Chinese ambassador has also clarified issues concerning interest rates on loans granted by his country.

This government, after it came into office, foolishly adopted what was perceived as a hostile attitude towards China, perhaps because its predecessor had cultivated a close relationship with China. The government’s attitude seems to have changed following President Maithripala Sirisena’s visits to China.

Yes, the allegation that the previous government had a close relationship with China and government Ministers and some others had creamed off millions by granting ‘generous concessions’ for projects such as the Port City Project had, no doubt, influenced this government’s attitude towards China. But, the present administration must realise that Sri Lanka’s relations with China is, indeed, a very special and precious one and that we owe them a debt of gratitude for the assistance we have received in the past and particularly during the country’s war with the LTTE; only China and Pakistan helped Sri Lanka at that time. I need to also flag the fact that it was China that assisted us at the UN by preventing the Western powers from using the Security Council to stop the war when the LTTE was about to be wiped out. Britain, France and the US having failed to make the UNSC stop the war, next sought to intervene, citing the Right to Protect (R2P) Resolution of the UN General Assembly (adopted after the genocide in Rwanda).

China has not only assisted us in international forums but her assistance over the years has been more than significant. She has always treated us as a ‘special friend’ because Sri Lanka was the only country that gave them rubber, a strategic commodity, during the Korean War. No Chinese government has ever forgotten this. I wish here to recall that on an official visit to China with the late Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar––I was Additional Foreign Secretary at that time––he was asked by then President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga to find out what we owed the Chinese government for the government to government defence assistance. Our Foreign Minister was extended the courtesy of meeting the Prime Minister for official talks. Minister LK told the Chinese PM that he had been asked by our President to find out what our country owed China for the military assistance we had received from the government, the PM then consulted his officials and after many minutes of discussion, stated "please inform Madam President that we have not asked!" Such was the manner in which they treated Sri Lanka. So, let’s not spoil that relationship by raising innocuous issues with China, perhaps at the instance of itinerant politicians who would not be even remembered a few years from now. We must reciprocate the warm and friendly relations which Sri Lanka has had with China for centuries. Sri Lanka has an enduring, multi-dimensional and deep-rooted relationship with China. The long-standing ties of friendship between the two countries are underpinned by mutual trust and confidence. A close identity of views and mutuality of interest remains the hallmark of their bilateral relations.

We must maintain the closest of relations with both China and India in our own interest. We need to ensure that one will not be at the expense of the other. I was once told by a Chinese Foreign Minister: "We will not do anything to give any country reason or an excuse to destabilise your country, and we will never interfere in your internal affairs."