• About Us
  • Careers
  • Brand Partnerships
TFI Official Merchandise
TFI English
TFI हिन्दी
Sunday, February 5, 2023
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
Right Arm. Round the World. FAST.
No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean
TFIGlobal
TFIGlobal
No Result
View All Result

Sri Lanka refuses to learn its lessons as the country is all set for a repeat of the Hambantota fiasco

Akshay Narang by Akshay Narang
May 13, 2019
in Geopolitics, Indian Subcontinent
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Sri Lanka, Colombo, China

(PC: South China Morning Post)

2.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

It seems that Sri Lanka has not learnt its lessons post the Hambantota fiasco. As per latest reports, Port City Colombo, an ambitious project to build a metropolis funded by the Chinese is going to come up at a popular spot in Sri Lanka’s capital. The project is going to be spread over a mammoth 665-acre island reclaimed from the sea.

This has brought back the ghosts of the Hambantota project. The memory of the controversial Hambantota project is still fresh in Sri Lanka’s memory. The Party City Colombo Project is going to double up the size of Colombo. It will add an area the size of Central London to Sri Lanka’s capital city. As per Jagath Munasinghe, chairman of Sri Lanka’s Urban Development Authority, “It’s the first time we got the opportunity to develop an entirely new city on a blank piece of land.” The Port City project is a part of the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) whereby China has been trying to expand its influence massively. The metropolis project is being financed by a US $1.4 billion loan that has been issued by China Communication Construction Company, the giant state-owned engineering firm.

Also Read

Rajapakse gave Hambantota port to China, just like that and Scholz is doing the same for Hamburg

Biden finds a sacrificial lamb in Putin for the Sri Lankan crisis

It seems that the present Sri Lankan regime has not kept the Hambantota fiasco in mind. During President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s regime, the Hambantota port had come up. Financed by the Chinese despite adverse feasibility reports and refusal by India for such a project, the port turned out to be a miserable failure. While tens of thousands of ships passing through the busiest shipping lanes in the world, the Hambantota port drew only 34 shapes in 2012. The Rajapaksa regime was ousted in 2015 but the new government struggled to discharge the debts taken by the Rajapaksa regime. Finally, Sri Lanka had to hand over the port and a mammoth 15,000 acres of land around it to the Chinese. This was strategically crucial for China as it gained foothold just a few hundred miles off the shores of India. This became a critical example of how the Chinese use ambitious loans and financial aid in order to gain a foothold in other countries.

China is naturally interested in the island nation. Sri Lanka’s geographical location is the cardinal reason for China’s heightened interest in the country. Located just south of India, it is not only lending China an advantage over India which is seen as a potential challenger to growing Chinese hegemony but also opens up China’s access to rapidly developing markets on the subcontinent. The Chinese strategy of bargaining sovereignty by financing unfeasible, mammoth projects became pretty clear after the Hambantota fiasco. Sri Lanka must comprehend how the Chinese are using rising debt as a medium for intervention in Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. Sri Lanka endured it once, it must take care to ensure that it does not have to go through the same all over again.

Tags: Sri Lanka
Share171TweetSend
Previous Post

Baloch Liberation Army attacks hotel in Gwadar

Next Post

Per capita income in Pakistan shrinks by 8.2 percent in Imran Khan’s first year

Also Read

India-Africa team up to drive out EU

India-Africa team up to drive out EU

February 5, 2023
US’ fear of Wagner is driving it crazy

US’ fear of Wagner is driving it crazy

February 5, 2023
EU Xinjiang

EU’s malicious encashment of forced labour is a revelation of its true evil face

February 4, 2023
Nord Stream US

An energy-secured Germany blames US for Nord Stream sabotage for the first time

February 4, 2023
Load More

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms of use and Privacy Policy.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
US Ukraine

Russia unearths USA’s empire of terror in Ukraine

February 4, 2023
World Economic Forum

“Sex, sleaze, and drugs” is what WEF is all about

January 18, 2023
Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

Did Ukraine use innocent civilians as human shield against Russia in the name of evacuation?

May 9, 2022
Ukraine weapons

3 nations spoil Biden’s plan to fuel Ukraine war with South American ammunition

January 31, 2023
Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” becomes a reality in Biden’s America

Orwellian “Ministry of Truth” becomes a reality in Biden’s America

April 28, 2022
The Caribbean NATO could be a reality now!

The Caribbean NATO could be a reality now!

February 5, 2023
Proving Their Mettle: St.Kitts and Nevis Takes on Money-Laundering

Proving Their Mettle: St.Kitts and Nevis Takes on Money-Laundering

February 5, 2023
Seeds of hatred have germinated between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela

Seeds of hatred have germinated between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela

February 5, 2023
Peeling the layers of Iran’s interests in Mauritania

Peeling the layers of Iran’s interests in Mauritania

February 5, 2023
Given Trudeau’s history with Canada’s data, Saskatchewan lashes back

Given Trudeau’s history with Canada’s data, Saskatchewan lashes back

February 5, 2023
Youtube Twitter Facebook
TFIGlobal
  • About us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy Policy

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

No Result
View All Result
  • Premium
  • Indo-Pacific
  • Americas
  • Canada
  • Indian Subcontinent
  • West Asia
  • Europe
  • Africa
  • The Caribbean

©2023 - TFI MEDIA PRIVATE LIMITED

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Follow us on Twitter

and never miss an insightful take by the TFIGlobal team

Follow @tfiglobal
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. View our Privacy and Cookie Policy.