Round The World

New Delhi, 25 September 2012

Sri Lanka: Love thy Neighbour

VITAL TO RENEW BILATERAL VOWS

                                                                   By Shreya Upadhyay                            

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

The summit level status accorded to Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapaksa’s recent visit to India sends out a much-needed positive signal. Namely, New Delhi now wants to approach Colombo with restored urgency in bilateral ties even as it balances its position vis-à-vis Tamil Nadu’s domestic politic dynamics.

Recall, India-Sri Lanka ties hit cold waters after the fall of Tamil Tigers in May 2009. Reiterated by an Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis (IDSA) article last month that relations between the neighbours was “stagnant” in the post LTTE years.

Pertinently, India’s decision to vote against Sri Lanka in the US-sponsored UN Human Rights Council Resolution in March criticising Colombo for failing to take adequate steps to address human rights grievances and put in place institutional mechanisms to resolve land disputes, soured ties. Worse, much to India and the international community’s chagrin, Colombo ignored constant appeals to take concrete steps for rehabilitation of Tamils and involve them in policy making.

Complicating matters, the hardened stance of Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian Parties also proved to be a dampener. As both the AIADMK and DMK are busy harnessing pro-Tamil sentiments and pursuing a Tamil agenda. Be it Chief Minister Jayalalitha’s opposition to the a Sri Lankan junior football team’s visit or DMK supremo Karunanidhi organising a Tamil Eelam Supporters Organisation (TESO) in August, both are busy trying to be one-up on the other.

In fact, Jayalalitha’s Government got staunch response against training of Sri Lankan defence personnel which became a bone of contention between the Central and State Government. Whereby, the Chief Minister wanted the Centre to “show more consideration and regard for the sentiments of the people of Tamil Nadu by sending the defence personnel back to Sri Lanka”.

Prior to this in July, various State Parties criticised the Centre for allowing training of nine Sri Lankan Air Force officers who visited India for a nine-month training programme as part of a bilateral agreement between the two countries. They were later shifted from Tamil Nadu’s Tambaram airbase to Karnataka’s Yelahanka Air Force Station in Bengaluru.  In addition, the Government had to cancel a similar programme to train 25 Sri Lankan soldiers at the Defence Service Staff College at Wellington following demonstrations by various groups in the State.

Tamil parties also witnessed sharp protests in the run-up to Rajapaksa’s visit wherein, MDMK leader Gopalaswamy along-with his supporters was detained by the police. However, according to Government sources, the initiative for talks came from the Sri Lankan side which India honoured. During the meeting, New Delhi asked Colombo to accept the Tamil National Alliance as an interlocutor and begin the process for discussing a road map for the political devolution of powers.

New Delhi re-emphasised the need for urgent steps to resettle internally displaced persons and urged Colombo to undertake speedy rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka. Given that the Sri Lankan Army’s presence in these two regions was hampering post-conflict ethnic reconciliation. Especially as the Army is Sinhalese and the people of the North are Tamil. Since the de-militarisation of these regions is one of the benchmarks against which Sri Lanka’s compliance with the UNHRC resolution would be assessed.

Interestingly, in the run-up to President Rajapaksa’s visit, Sri Lanka also played the China and Pakistan cards. Recently, the Sri Lankan President thanked Islamabad and Beijing for their help in combating the Tamil Tigers.

As it stands, Pakistan has been Sri Lanka’s second largest trading partner and a buddy in “arms”, supplying arms, ammunition, battle-tanks and even a Sino-Pak aircraft for years. It also trains Sri Lankan army-men. According to Indian intelligence, Pakistan’s Inter Service Intelligence (ISI) is actively trying to recruit Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who have returned to the island nation post the end of Eelam war, to spy on India.

Consequently, New Delhi cannot choose to ignore that a further drift in India-Sri Lanka relations could be exploited by Beijing. At present, China is Sri Lanka’s major aid donor with an annual aid package of more than $1 billion. It is the first foreign country to have an exclusive economic zone in the island nation.  

Moreover, China’s presence in Sri Lanka is not just limited to aid or developmental work. Both have been together since the 1950s. Asserted IDSA’s RN Das, “The most glaring example of this is the 1952 Rubber-Rice Agreement which has been renewed from time to time.”

Not only is it attractive but also a boon to Sri Lanka as it provides a market for its surplus rubber while it simultaneously obtains access to much-needed low priced food-grains.” In a maritime agreement, China had also provided a most-favoured nation treatment to commercial vessels between itself and Sri Lanka as early as 1963.

Currently, Beijing is involved with the Hambantota Development Zone. Once completed it would include an international container port, bunkering system, oil refinery, international airport along-with other facilities. It is being speculated that the Hambantota port, close to the Kundakulam nuclear site and Indian satellite launch centres in Kerala, could be used strategically by China for its intelligence gathering capabilities against India.

Notably, the Chinese military participation in the recently concluded Sri Lanka joint services exercise "Cormorant III" in September in Eastern Province’s Eastern Vakarai should ring alarm bells among New Delhi’s foreign policy formulators. Whereby, troops from China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Maldives participated in the 15-day military exercise.

Importantly, in order to exploit the operational advantages in the Indian Ocean it is vital that India counters the growing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka and infuse new energy into ties with the island state.

 Towards that end, New Delhi has already offered reconstruction aid to Colombo. The countries have also been working together on bilateral trade to reach the $10 billion mark by 2015. India could also help Sri Lanka in diversifying its exports which could have a resounding impact on the mutual trade balance.

In the ultimate, the Tamil Parties which want New Delhi to sever all links with Colombo should understand that in this way India might not only lose whatever leverage it has with the Lankan Government but also would not be in any position to influence a political solution acceptable to the Tamils there.

Already, coalition politics is a major constraint in the Government’s decision making vis-à-vis Sri Lanka. While India should constantly express its concerns on human rights violations and the Tamil people’s plight in Sri Lanka, it should not allow these issues to affect bilateral engagement.  ----- INFA

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