By Afshain Afzal
The Ambassador of the United States of America to Sri Lanka has just taken over the charge to arm the Indian Ocean Island nations tooth and nail. It is Ms Julie J. Chung, who took over as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Sri Lanka, to be based in Colombo. Earlier, on 25 February 2022, she presented credentials to H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka. Julie Chung served as Director for Japan in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs from where in November 2018, she was posted as the Acting Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. The State Department has tasked her to focus of Sri Lanka’s programmes regarding demining, narcotics-trafficking, human rights and labour issues. She has also been assigned to coordinate wither various agencies to execute Emergency Assistance Coordination Team in response to suicide bombings and demining operations. She is likely to persuade Colombo to a framework for US- Sri Lanka partnership on which foreign agencies and nations would operate inside Sri Lanka.
It is been calculated that attack of Sri Lanka top leadership is going to take place on the pattern of 7 July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. It is alleged that already information regarding some of the Sri Lanka leaderships’ ties with groups involved in organized crime has been shared and over some time more details including lists will be shared with US law enforcement officials. This will be followed by rise in violence and kidnapping of Christian missionaries.
As per the understanding, Sri Lanka will enhance its relations with the US and India in Indo-pacific. In this context, The United States Department of Defense (DOD) has offered Sri Lanka free of cost two Beechcraft 360 ERs aircrafts. Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) chief Air has agreed to these two modern maritime surveillance aircraft. However, there are reports that Sri Lanka has to pay for it in the long term as Pentagon has made it public that it awarded Textron Aviation an $11.4 million contract for new Beechcraft King Air 360ER aircraft as part of a Foreign Military Sale to Sri Lanka. The United States has delivered more than $2 billion in development assistance to Sri Lanka since its independence in 1948. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United States seeks to broaden and accelerate economic growth, develop democratic institutions, and promote the reconciliation of multi-ethnic and religious communities in Sri Lanka. If we recall, US government issued a travel ban on the Sri Lankan Army Chief, on the grounds that there was “credible information of his involvement” in human rights violations during the final phase of the war. Likewise certain other officers have also been booked.
Sri Lanka, placed in a vital geostrategic location in the Indian Ocean, faces its own geopolitical challenges. The island is a part of the conceptual map of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the United States’ (US) Indo-Pacific Strategy.In the recent past, an important tri-lateral agreement along with India and Japan on the Colombo East Port Terminal (ECT) was cancelled and Western Container Terminal was adopted. However, the United States and India are engaging Sri Lanka to sign military pacts to station troops on Sri Lankan maritime boundaries to resist Chinese moves. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka armed forces are on the way to modernization. As per the Sri Lankan Appropriation Bill of 2022, the Army would get the lion’s share – LKR 188.1 billion, an increase of 11%, Navy would get LKR 63.9 billion, with an increase of 4%, and the Air Force gets LKR 56 billion, an increase of 8.5%. As for capital expenditure, army would get LKR 7.4 billion, navy would get LKR 9.2 and the Air Force would receive LKR 15 billion. All these move may create a suspicion, which would ultimately lead to disturb relations with China. India and Sri Lanka are discussing a number of defence-related pact but so far Colombo has agreed to one. New Delhi is discussing supply of two Dornier aircraft for the Sri Lankan military but the conditions of Indian personnel and technicians have been rejected by Sri Lanka. India is also seeking permission to keep Indian troops in Sri Lanka as peacekeeping and anti-piracy forces.
Sri Lanka was always a peaceful Kingdom comprising of Buddhists and Muslims, However, Europeans invaded the country and Portuguese were in the 16th century. The island was partitioned into seven conflicting kingdoms and to divide and rule and make the local population enemy of each other. After gaining the control, Portuguese forced the Buddhist and Muslim majority to convert to Christianity which gave birth to hatred against various religions. The Portuguese and later Dutch in order to further make the situation volatile and complex, immigrated Hindus from Indian states to create a balance in religion, especially Muslims, and Buddhists. The British eventually took control of the coastal areas in 1796 and named it Ceylon. By 1815, the British brought the entire island under their rule and made the majority population into an amalgam of diversified religions. In fact, Islam was there is Sri Lanka and adjoining States since the time of prophet Muhammad Alhe Salam (Sal Allah Ho Alhe Wasalam). The Sri Lankan gained independence from British invasion on 4th February1948, and Christian ruler Don Stephen Senanayake became its first Prime Minister. On 22 May 1972 Ceylon was renamed as Sri Lanka. There is no doubt that Sri Lankan are a peace-loving nation but apparently, the territories of Sri Lanka is going to be used for aggressive hostile purposes. It is high time that Sri Lanka must not fall in the trap of international conspiracies by becoming part of international military alliances.