PranabDhalSamanta : New Delhi, Sat Mar 23 2013,
09:07 hrs
While
India-Sri Lanka ties hit another low after New Delhi's proactive efforts to
censure Colombo at the UN Human Rights Council, Chinese President Xi Jinping
elevated the island nation's profile by including President Mahinda Rajapaksa
in the first list of five phone calls he made after formally taking over from
Hu Jintao last week.
In
fact, Xi spoke with Rajapaksa on March 16, the same day he spoke to his
Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari, which signalled that Beijing had put
Colombo at par with Islamabad. This, sources said, is a significant leap
because Pakistan is considered an "all-weather ally" and to place Sri
Lanka in the same category clearly reflected the comfort levels achieved in the
relationship.
Xi
made his first set of calls on March 14, and predictably they were to the heads
of three other P5 countries where a president is the executive head — Barack
Obama in the US, Vladimir Putin in Russia and France's Francois Hollande.
The
next day, new Chinese Premier Li Keqiang spoke to German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, indicating the importance China
attached to its relationship with India. The premier is the counterpart for
countries where a PM is the executive head.
A
day later, on March 16, Xi spoke to the presidents of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Xi is said to have assured Rajapaksa of full support in his efforts to protect
Sri Lanka's sovereignty and territorial integrity. There were indications of
support at the UN Human Rights Council even though China is not a member this
time. Pakistan, it may be noted, voted against the resolution on Thursday.
Sino-Lankan
ties have witnessed an upswing in recent years with China even launching Sri
Lanka's first satellite last November. Similarly, defence ties have been on the
front-burner after Chinese defence minister Liang Guanglie's visit to Sri Lanka
last year. Both sides reached a comprehensive agreement on training military
personnel with the Chinese defence establishment offering a range of high-value
courses besides upgrading counter-insurgency training.
Beijing
has also agreed to look positively at Colombo's request for high-end electronic
communication technology, particularly for purposes of maritime security.
Sources further revealed that China has agreed to help significantly upgrade
Sri Lankan cyber-warfare capabilities, which is crucial to Colombo to track and
counter pro-LTTE elements abroad, who are largely dependent on the cyber
platform.
Besides,
talks are on to provide maintenance support to K-8, F-7 and Y-12 aircraft of
the Sri Lankan Air Force and upgradation of the Sri Lankan Army's T-55 tanks.
Defence, sources said, is the new sector added to an already growing presence
in key infrastructure areas such as ports.
These
fast-paced developments have occurred at a time India has focused its efforts
to get the Rajapaksa government to work for greater political accommodation of
the Tamil population. New Delhi has been pressing Colombo to not turn the
defeat of the LTTE into a majority domination that would make the ethnic Tamil
population more insecure. To this end, India has taken up humanitarian projects
in Tamil-dominated areas.
Colombo
has, however, not delivered on any key Indian demand, which further worsened
relations that have now had ramifications in Tamil Nadu's politics. While
Indian diplomats are against any country-specific human rights resolution,
sources said the lack of cooperation from Sri Lanka, possibly strengthened by
the China relationship, has reduced any scope of an understanding for the
moment.
