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Look up China's 'String of Pearls' strategy. They want military infrastructure (civilian airports and ports fill that role) in the Indian Ocean, in part to cont
by forapurpose 9y ago
Look up China's 'String of Pearls' strategy. They want military infrastructure (civilian airports and ports fill that role) in the Indian Ocean, in part to contain India.
- oh_sigh 9y agoWould a lease allow military missions to land there? I'd assume the SL government would have final say in the type of missions allowed
- iamshs 9y agoChina already docked a submarine in Sri Lankan port that they were building in 2014 and later took the lease off. Sri Lanka later rejected the Chinese request of docking a nuclear submarine. So, I think it is on case-by-case basis and if local government has curried favours with Chinese Government. They are building military infrastructure (listening posts already exist) in Myanmar's Coco Islands, and Maldives too, in their strategy to surround India which is called, "String of Pearls".
- forapurpose 9y agoGreat powers have a way of persuading small countries. If China wanted it, there is little SL could do - China can 'make an offer they can't refuse'. Look at the South China Sea. For example, if SL resisted and China ignored them then the SL leader would be humiliated and might fall from power and/or China might replace them with someone more agreeable. I think SL's only protection would be if another power, India in particular, decided it was in their interest to push out China. I'm surprised India has allowed China to get a foothold there. Compare SL to Cuba: Castro survived, AFAICT, because the USSR supported him and used Cuba as a geostrategic base.