New York, Feb 10: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the situation in Myanmar, where a military coup was staged on February 1, with India's
Even in the best of times, invisible strains have haunted bilateral relations between India and its closest ocean neighbour, Sri Lanka. Today, they are all at sea, all at once, and all over again, thanks to two specific issues, namely the continuing ‘ECT row’ and what has by now become the traditional ‘fishermen’s dispute.’
The ‘China factor,’ the ‘Sri Lankan ethnic issue,’ and the attendant ‘UNHRC resolution’ too have negatively impacted bilateral relations, but they have different connotations. The fishermen’s issue and economic ties, in contrast, are more direct and have become as complicated. By extension, the current dispute over an Indian firm participating in the ‘East Container Terminal’ (ECT) of the Colombo Port should be seen as a part of the unresolved trade issues, in which successive governments in Sri Lanka have baulked at upgrading the two-decade old Free Trade Agreement (FTA) into a differently-titled CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnersh