By Zain-ul-Abideen

India started creating hindrances for Sri Lanka in Colombo port in the name of trade investment. The fear of China led India to manipulate the deal of East Container Terminals (ECT) at Colombo Port. India composed a deal with Sri Lanka at Colombo Port to invest in ECT in May 2019. The terminal is strategically very important because more than 50% trade of Indo-Pacific region passes in front of Colombo port. Sri Lanka has very important strategic position in the trade of Indo-pacific region. Many regional powers are interested to invest in Colombo port including China and India. The said deal of ECT which was held among Sri Lanka, India and Japan was very confirmed by Memorandums signed between India and Sri Lanka in 2020. India started influencing in domestic policies of Sri Lanka to make her hegemony on trade unions of Sri Lanka through her investments.

The biggest Adani corporate of India started investments in ECT of Colombo port on behalf of India but in February 2021, the Prime minister of Sri Lanka suddenly announced that the deal has been cancelled and scrapped. The state minister for urban development of Sri Lanka, Nalaka Godahewa said in a statement that “the main Indian investor, the Adani Group, has itself indicated that it would be willing to put its money in the West Container Terminal (WCT)”. The intention of India are now very clear that India only want disruption in Sri Lanka to produce unrest in Colombo port, so that the confidence of other investors can be brought down. This was the reason which brought India to cancel the deal of east terminal and to ask for another deal of the west terminal in the same time which has been mentioned in the statement of Sri Lankan Minister. The minister has shown a lot of entrust on Adani corporate because of their intentions and expressions of asking investments in west container terminal of Colombo port.

India also asked for the equity ratio of (85%:15%) which was given to China to construct the Colombo Cargo Container Terminal (CCIT) of the port. China also had a deal with Sri Lanka about 99-year lease on the Hambantota port on the south eastern coast of Sri Lanka, and also 15,000 acres of adjacent farmland was given to make a Special Economic Zone (SEZ). This is all what India cannot digest and planning to create problems against China to disrupt Chinese investment in the port. All has been planned by India to bring instability in the region to prevent china from investing in the ports.

If Sri Lanka make a deal with Adani Corporate in west container terminal of Colombo port, India will still never be happy from Sri Lanka. A high ranked Indian official said in negotiations with the Sri Lankan Minister that, “So the big question is, if that equity share was possible for China, why not with India and over the ECT?” So they planned to cancel the deal. India is also playing double game with Sri Lanka and with its own citizens of Tamil Nadu by using them against Sri Lanka and also let Tamils killed by Sri Lanka. Tamils are demanding independence from India, so India wanted to vanish their freedom movement and very wisely India engaged Tamils and Sri Lanka against each other. India is a black sheep who will never let peace and stability to come in the region because it will never accept China’s dominant role in the Indo-pacific trade. Occasionally, she will be disturbing and blackmailing Sri Lanka in the name of different excuses because the real problem of India is the Chinese growing economy and India wants to stop China from investing in Indo-pacific region. China signed thousands of dollars’ agreements with Sri Lanka, so India is scarred of Chinese investments and trying to create hurdles again and again. The proposed seeking agreement of India in West containers terminals has a same future like east containers terminal because the minister have clearly said that India itself enforced to cancel

ECT agreement and to have a new deal on west terminal. The Sri Lankan Minister of Urban development expressed entrust on Indian involvement in any kind of deal between India and Sri Lanka regarding Indo-Pacific trade.

Observing all of the facts, we have reached to a conclusion that India is the biggest responsible of disturbing peace and stability of the region as we have seen how India always played a role of black sheep in the region. She has Issues with all of her neighbor countries, and engages in different kind of conflicts. To maintain peace and stability in the region India has to remove her hegemonic role in the region.