China continues 'MISSION TO SURROUND INDIA FROM ALL SIDES' at an alarming rate, tensions rise for Indian government
China has been trying to systematically flex its muscle in the Indian Ocean region to encircle India, as India has an advantage over China in the maritime domain. China has already forged maritime ties with Pakistan, Seychelles, Mauritius, Maldives, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.
The Communist Party of China is not only focusing on growing its maritime ties but also its military bases in these country where it starts with lending loans and slowly iin return of favour and development, it demands to build an overseas military base on their land.
The latest evident target is Sri Lanka as the country has already declared emergency on food & struggles with its economy.
By gaining foothold in Sri Lanka, China can directly challenge the Indian Navy's superiority in the Indian Ocean region and gain control of critical maritime seaway through which China's most crude oil passes.
Chinese investments and presence till now were confined mostly in the southern coastline of Sri Lanka, away from Indian maritime border. The northern coastline which has a significant Tamil speaking population was relatively free from Chinese investments.
Sri Lanka in February this year awarded a $12 million hybrid solar and wind energy project to a Chinese firm. This project will come up in three islets off the Jaffna Peninsula, just 50Km from Tamil Nadu.
China is also building the Colombo port city by reclaiming about 269 hectares of land from the ocean, by far the biggest foreign investment for Sri Lanka costing about $1.2 bn.
The port city will be governed by a 7-member commission, whose members can be of foreign origin. The commission has been given overreaching and extraordinary powers of bypassing the local laws to act in an independent manner and allow foreign investors to have an unbridled control over local resources.
Though India too has supported Sri Lanka with financial assistances it cannot match the might of China which is the largest creditor in the world. This financial crisis can be further used by China to debt trap Sri Lanka and alienate India.
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