BY S VENKAT NARAYAN Our Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, February 6: The unilateral scrapping by Sri Lanka of the trilateral agreement on developing the strategic East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo Port has upset both India and Japan. Last week, Sri Lanka unilaterally pulled out of the 2019 agreement with India and Japan after […]
Friday 5th February, 2021 Nothing seems to get done in this country without a presidential intervention. A collective of environmental groups has called upon President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to have the ongoing rape of the Dahaiyagala sanctuary stopped immediately. A large number of ruling party politicians and their henchmen are clearing swaths of forest inside the […]
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
Unpacking Port Patriotism: Lack Of Internal Process & Its External Effects
Rajan Philips
The first consequential announcement that the ECT deal is kaput came from Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. Early last week he was reported to have assured the port workers that the East Container Terminal (marked East on the map) “will neither be sold to any country nor handed over to any country for administration.” The PM’s announcement came as a surprise to everyone, most of all to the Indian High Commission in Colombo. It was not clear if, when and how India and Japan were formally advised of the government’s decision. It was clear, however, that the Prime Minister was trying to diffuse a gathering political storm at home and was not worrying about diplomatic niceties.
Sri Lankaâs economic past isnât very bright. Scrapping deals with India wonât help its future
Given the sensitive nature of New Delhi-Colombo relations, it would be prudent for India to approach the subject cautiously.
Seshadri Chari 5 February, 2021 10:46 am IST Text Size:
A+
Amid the ongoing farmersâ protest and an eight-month-long standoff with the Chinese at the LAC, the news from Colombo â of Sri Lanka going back on the 2019 agreement with India and Japan to build the East Container Terminal at the Colombo Port â should raise alarm bells in some quarters of the Narendra Modi government. While Sri Lankaâs unilateral decision has been frowned upon by New Delhi and Tokyo alike, Colombo appears to be planning some kind of balancing act to placate all stakeholders after its U-turn.