Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s promise of continuity with change and saying what India wanted to hear on security relations ought to have eased concerns in New Delhi about the Marxist-leaning leader’s new regime.
For, India is dealing with a new player who came from the fringe after the Aragalaya uprising two years ago and won a massive mandate through the democratic process, pushing all established players to the sidelines. Dissanayake’s assurance that Sri Lanka would not be used in any manner detrimental to Indian interests made national headlines, though it was just a reiteration of its longstanding policy.
What stood apart this time was that the statement came from a coalition that had spewed anti-India vitriol over the years. Coming as his visit did in the wake of another regime change in the neighbourhood that resulted in frayed bilateral ties, the anxieties were set at rest by Dissanayake taking the pragmatic middle road.
He acknowledged New Delhi’s proactive first responder role during any emergency, like the USD 5-billion aid given so far ever since the Covid pandemic broke the back of his nation’s economy, and its positive role in talks on multilateral debt restructuring.
The joint statement also spoke about an open, safe and secure Indian Ocean region, which was read in the context of China’s territorial expansionism and the knotty issue of berthing research ships for spying against India in Sri Lankan ports. It would be interesting to see how he nuances that position further when he visits China next month.
The implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution, a fixture in past joint statements on Tamil rights, was missing this time since Dissanayake is against it.
Narendra Modi, in the softest of touches on the hot-button Tamil issue, said, “We hope that Sri Lanka will fully implement the Constitution and will fulfil its commitment to hold provincial council elections.”
On territorial violation and overfishing, both sides agreed on a humanitarian approach by factoring in livelihood concerns and using the dispute resolution mechanisms already in place.
Most development proposals to enhance and deepen economic and security ties took past engagements forward. On balance, the Sri Lankan president made a win-win visit, while India continues with painkiller medication to deal with the Bangladesh migraine.