Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Sri Lankan president aims to allay India’s concerns regarding China

New Sri Lankan leaders usually travel to India within a few weeks of taking office, but Ranil Wickremesinghe’s trip comes exactly a year after he became president

Sri Lankan president aims to allay India’s concerns regarding China

Sri Lanka's president is scheduled to arrive in India on Thursday (20) for his first visit to the country, with concerns mounting in New Delhi over China's increasing influence in the strategically placed but financially bankrupt island.

New Sri Lankan leaders usually travel to India within a few weeks of taking office, but Ranil Wickremesinghe's trip comes exactly a year after he became president following the toppling of his predecessor at the height of an unprecedented economic crisis.


As Sri Lanka drifted towards chaos with daily street protests over shortages of food, fuel and medicines, India poured nearly $4 billion (£3bn) in aid to restore supplies and stabilise the island.

The loans and credit lines were granted despite Sri Lanka defaulting on its $46bn (£35bn) foreign debt and losing access to international financial markets.

"Without India's help Sri Lanka could have degenerated into anarchy," said political commentator Victor Ivan.

"The president will not only have to show gratitude, but reassure that we will not do anything to hurt them," he added.

"At the same time, Sri Lanka can't drop China because they are also a very important economic partner."

LEAD Lanka INSET with Xi GettyImages 519773374 BEIJING, CHINA - APRIL 8: Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe (L) and Chinese President, Xi Jinping shake hands before a meeting at the Great Hall of the People on April 8, 2016 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kenzaburo Fukuhara - Pool / Getty Images)

China is Sri Lanka's biggest bilateral creditor and a Chinese firm acquired a 99-year lease on the southern port of Hambantota after Colombo was unable to repay a huge loan from Beijing to build it.

A $1.4bn (£1bn) land reclamation project next to Colombo port - the biggest-ever foreign investment in Sri Lanka - has raised Indian fears that Beijing could use it as a listening post. Initially some of it was to have been Chinese sovereign territory.

Sri Lanka lies halfway along the main international shipping route between Europe and East Asia, with Colombo and Hambantota the only deep sea ports between Dubai and Singapore.

New Delhi sees the region as its backyard, and officials have been alarmed by Beijing's activities.

As part of its Belt and Road Initiative, China has also struck other infrastructure deals with countries around the Indian Ocean, including the Maldives, Bangladesh and Djibouti, where it has a military base.

New Delhi raised concerns when a Chinese research vessel, Yuan Wang 5, sought permission to dock at Hambantota in August.

The port call by what India describes as a spy ship went ahead. Sri Lanka responded by asking China not to carry out any "scientific research" while in Sri Lankan waters.

LEAD Lanka INSET China ship GettyImages 1242533110 China's research and survey vessel, the Yuan Wang 5, arrives at Hambantota port on August 16, 2022. - A Chinese research vessel entered Sri Lanka's Chinese-run southern port of Hambantota on August 16 despite concerns from India and the US about its activities. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP)

Local political columnist Kusal Perera called the Yuan Wang 5 spat an "aberration".

"One such incident will not decide the fate of the entire relationship with India," he said, adding that Indian businesses were also seeking to expand their presence in the island.

Wickremesinghe sought to address India's fears during a visit to France last month, dismissing speculation about Chinese military bases in Sri Lanka.

"No, we have no military agreements with China," he told the France24 TV network. "There won't be any military agreements. I don't think China enters into one.

"We are a neutral country, but we also emphasise on the fact that we cannot allow Sri Lanka to be used as a base for any threats against India," he added.

Wickremesinghe will be the fourth Sri Lankan president to be hosted by India’ prime minister Narendra Modi.

He was elected by parliament to serve the remaining two-and-a-half years in the term of Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who stepped down following protests over mismanagement of the economy.

But the Indian establishment has often viewed six-time prime minister Wickremesinghe's pro-Western United National Party with suspicion.

"Debt restructuring will be on the agenda along with connectivity," said a senior diplomatic source, adding New Delhi would be keen to speed up infrastructure projects hit by bureaucratic delays.

Sri Lanka requires agreement from all its creditors, including India and China, on debt restructuring.

Colombo has proposed hair cuts of up to 30 per cent and a repayment freeze extending to nine years.

The second tranche of some $330 million (£252m) out of a $2.9bn (£2.2bn) IMF bailout is due in September - subject to Colombo securing a deal with its lenders.

Wickremesinghe said last month he was "very confident" China would be on board and Colombo would be able to unlock the remainder of the IMF bailout.

In October, he is due to travel to China for the first time as president.

(AFP)

More For You

Police arrest five after anti-asylum protesters target Heathrow hotel

Anti-migrant protesters demonstrate outside the Cladhan Hotel on August 30, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Police arrest five after anti-asylum protesters target Heathrow hotel

BRITISH police said they arrested five people on Saturday (30) after masked men tried to force their way into a hotel used by asylum-seekers, a day after the government won a court ruling on the use of another hotel to house migrants.

Two groups of anti-asylum protesters marched to the Crowne Plaza Hotel near Heathrow Airport before some demonstrators tried to break in, London's Metropolitan Police force said.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi backs peaceful Ukraine settlement in call with Zelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskiy (L) and Narendra Modi

Modi backs peaceful Ukraine settlement in call with Zelenskyy

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his support for a peaceful settlement in Ukraine during a telephone conversation with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Modi's office said.

Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address on Saturday (30), said Modi supported Ukraine's call for a ceasefire in the war with Russia and hoped that notion would be heard at the forthcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi says "peace and stability" achieved on China border in Xi meeting

India's prime minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with Chinese president Xi Jinping during a meeting on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China, August 31, 2025. India's Press Information Bureau/Handout via REUTERS

Modi says "peace and stability" achieved on China border in Xi meeting

INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi said New Delhi was committed to improving ties with Beijing in a key meeting with China's president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of a regional security forum on Sunday (31).

Modi is in China for the first time in seven years to attend a two-day meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, along with Russian president Vladimir Putin and other leaders from Central, South and Southeast Asia and the Middle East in a show of Global South solidarity.

Keep ReadingShow less
wasim bashir

Bashir retired from the force while under investigation but will still face misconduct proceedings. (Photo credit: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Former West Yorkshire Police officer jailed for misconduct

A FORMER West Yorkshire Police officer has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison after being convicted of misconduct in a public office.

Wasim Bashir, 55, who worked as a detective constable in Bradford District, was found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office for forming a sexual relationship with a female victim of crime. He was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, 29 August.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

Protesters calling for the closure of The Bell Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, gather outside the council offices in Epping on August 8, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Over a dozen councils plan legal action despite Home Office court win

Highlights:

  • Court of Appeal has overturned injunction blocking use of Epping hotel for asylum seekers.
  • Judges say human rights obligations outweigh local safety concerns.
  • At least 13 councils preparing legal action despite ruling.
  • Protests outside the Bell Hotel lead to arrests and police injuries.

MORE than a dozen councils are moving ahead with legal challenges against the use of hotels for asylum seekers despite the Home Office winning an appeal in the Court of Appeal.

Keep ReadingShow less