• Thursday, March 28, 2024

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Modi visits Sri Lanka as India seeks to counter Chinese influence

Diplomatic push: India’s prime minister Narendra Modi (right) with Sri Lanka’s president Maithripala Sirisena (Money Sharma /AFP/Getty Images)

By: Rithika Siddhartha

INDIA’S Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Sri Lanka today (11) on a charm offensive as New Delhi seeks to reassert its influence on the island amid signs of a Chinese comeback. Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in January 2015 promising to loosen ties with China after a decade of hefty funding by Beijing under his predecessor. When Modi visited the island shortly afterward, he promised to “script a golden chapter in the history of India-Sri Lanka relations”. Just two years later, analysts say Beijing’s influence is on the rise again as Colombo struggles to find alternative…

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