When Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena received India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at an ocean-front colonial building on Friday, the two looked out over a $1.4 billion Chinese real estate project halted days ago after criticism from New Delhi.
The vista will have pleased Modi, whose government strongly opposed the land reclamation project inaugurated by China's President Xi Jinping last year under a deal that gives China ownership of a patch of land overlooking a strategic port.
Modi's was the first bilateral visit by an Indian premier in 28 years, a sign of a friendship that has warmed rapidly since a January election ousted a leader whose close ties with China had left Sri Lanka's larger neighbour feeling unloved.
India and China are increasingly jostling for influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean and former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's decision to let Chinese submarines dock in Colombo port and the real estate deal were very worrying for New Delhi.
"The course of the 21st century will be determined by the currents of the Indian Ocean," Modi said in a speech to Sri Lanka's parliament that highlighted the new bonhomie. "Your leadership and our partnership will be vital in making a peaceful maritime neighbourhood." Full story...
Related posts:
The vista will have pleased Modi, whose government strongly opposed the land reclamation project inaugurated by China's President Xi Jinping last year under a deal that gives China ownership of a patch of land overlooking a strategic port.
Modi's was the first bilateral visit by an Indian premier in 28 years, a sign of a friendship that has warmed rapidly since a January election ousted a leader whose close ties with China had left Sri Lanka's larger neighbour feeling unloved.
India and China are increasingly jostling for influence in South Asia and the Indian Ocean and former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa's decision to let Chinese submarines dock in Colombo port and the real estate deal were very worrying for New Delhi.
"The course of the 21st century will be determined by the currents of the Indian Ocean," Modi said in a speech to Sri Lanka's parliament that highlighted the new bonhomie. "Your leadership and our partnership will be vital in making a peaceful maritime neighbourhood." Full story...
Related posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment