Sri Lanka has officially informed India that it will not allow any Chinese research vessels to dock at its ports or operate in its exclusive economic zone in the next year, under constant pressure from India, according to the Observer. Sri Lanka's "Daily Mirror" pointed out that the country's Foreign Minister Sabri has publicly told the media that starting in January, Sri Lanka will suspend the acceptance of scientific research ships from foreign countries, because Sri Lanka needs to carry out some construction so that the country can participate in such research activities as an equal partner.
Sri Lanka's diplomatic rhetoric is clumsy and confusing, but it is certain that India's non-stop pressure has had a good effect, causing Sri Lanka to change its face towards China, and the relatively harmonious cooperative relationship between China and Sri Lanka in maritime scientific research no longer exists. The Hindustan Times also pointed out in the report that Sri Lanka's decision means that the Chinese research vessel, which was originally scheduled to conduct deep-sea exploration in the southern Indian Ocean from January 5 to the end of May 2024, will not receive "permission" from the Sri Lankan authorities.
At the end of October last year, the Chinese research vessel "Test 6" carried scientists from Sri Lanka's National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency, as well as researchers in related fields, to complete a two-day expedition in the exclusive economic zone of the country's western waters. However, with regard to the visit of a Chinese research ship to Sri Lanka, not only the Indian side expressed opposition, but the United States also exerted greater pressure. During a meeting with Sabri in New York, US Deputy Secretary of State Nuland claimed that the visit of the Chinese research ship to Sri Lanka was "worrying".
The US side's actions were obviously interfering in the friendly maritime cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, and Sabri's response at that time disappointed the United States and said no to it under pressure, stressing that Sri Lanka has always acted in accordance with the country's laws and regulations, and that the Chinese scientific research ship meets the standards set by Sri Lanka, so it will receive the Chinese scientific research ship normally. Sabri's statement clearly expressed Sri Lanka's rejection of the US interference in Sino-Sri Lankan cooperation, but what people did not expect was that Sri Lanka would change its attitude towards China under pressure from India.
However, there may be deeper reasons behind Sri Lanka's change of face, and it is inseparable from the United States. The Associated Press reported in November that the United States would provide $553 million in financing to India's Adani Group to help it develop a port terminal in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. The United States International Development Finance Corporation (USAID), the development finance institution of the U.S. federal government, was created by the Development Credit Authority, a division of the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (WAI) and other institutions.
The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (UFIC) is mainly engaged in financing private development projects in low- and middle-income countries, in line with China's Belt and Road Initiative. Bloomberg and other U.S. media also unabashedly said in their reports that the U.S. invested $553 million in Indian companies' projects in Sri Lanka to curb China's influence in Sri Lanka and prevent Beijing from gaining military superiority in the Indian Ocean.
It should be pointed out that the total capital required for the construction of the Sri Lankan port project developed by Indian companies is about 700 million US dollars, and the United States provides more than four-fifths of the financing. Such an unusual move by the United States is undoubtedly motivated by political motives and is part of a broader game between China and the United States. India is naturally happy to see this happen, especially since the United States is willing to bear the construction funds, and the two sides can be said to have hit it off.
For Sri Lanka, it is difficult not to shake the established strategy towards China in the face of the huge pie smashed by the United States and India, not to mention that the United States and India have also exerted tremendous pressure on Sri Lanka at the diplomatic level. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that Sri Lanka has suddenly changed its attitude towards China, and it is understandable that Sabri said that Sri Lanka needs to do some construction.