The inexperience of the National People’s Power Government, especially when it comes to diplomacy and its foreign policy, continues to show, with the island nation seemingly numb to events and declarations which merit quick and robust responses. With the fragile state of the nation’s economy and the rapidly changing global order, Sri Lanka’s fate depended on skillful navigation of the turbulent seas of geopolitics and the international order.

The Government has thus far made excuses for its shortcomings by peddling the ‘learning on the job’ narrative. However, six months down the road, it can no longer afford to do so, nor should their transgressions be ignored. Early mistakes include missing a crucial BRICS meeting held in Russia last October. The pathetic response to rhetoric from some segments in India on the long-settled matter relating to Kachchatheevu Island, and the persistent cross-border poaching which sees thousands of mechanised trawlers pillage Sri Lankan waters and fisheries resources, is another example. Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry's sudden meeting with Ukraine’s President, hot on the heels of his very visible spat with the US President, came from left field and was grossly mistimed. Sri Lanka had made significant efforts to stay a distance away from the Ukraine conflict, and the NPP Government springs this surprise, with Russia, another long standing friend of Sri Lanka, caught off guard about the move.

Another foreign policy test was when the United Kingdom arbitrarily declared sanctions against four Sri Lankan citizens, three of whom happen to be former military commanders, while the other is an LTTE deserter who decamped long before the war ended. The United Kingdom, a nation which wrote the bloody manual on perfecting the art of counterinsurgency based on its experience from anti-independence operations in Ireland, which continues to this day in Northern Ireland to anti-communist operations in Malaya, to propping up monarchies in Aden, Kenya, Rhodesia, South Arabia, Southern Iraq, has today decided to ‘punish’ little ‘Ceylon’ regarding its internal issues, with no consultation, evidence presented nor path for recourse for the accused. It is also notable that not a single LTTE member, of which there are many domiciled in the UK, has been sanctioned. The NPP Government's response to the arbitrary action was lacklustre, to put it kindly, and is indicative of the weak foreign policy stance the Government has adopted. The Foreign Ministry’s statement did not question what due process the UK followed (if any was) in arriving at the decision. Neither did it question what exactly the allegations were against the military personnel. From the UK, no information has been forthcoming on the charges against the men, how an investigation was carried out, and who conducted it. The entire episode of the UK once again pandering to the domestic ethic voter bank has seemingly not followed any norms of natural justice.

It was the opposition and civil society in Sri Lanka who responded to the UK’s arbitrary action with resolve and questioned their moves, throwing an ineffective Ministry of Foreign Affairs into the shadows. Regardless of political and ideological views the Government of the day has about how its service personnel have conducted themselves, the NPP Government has let down the entire defence community in Sri Lanka by not standing up to such action by the UK.

Similarly, the Government has shown its weak foreign policy in responding to the devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake, which struck Myanmar last Friday (28) and impacted several other countries in the periphery, including Bangladesh, India, Laos, Thailand, and China. A global relief effort is underway to assist the war-ravaged Southeast Asian nation, which borders the Indian Ocean and has deep civilisational ties to Sri Lanka. When Nepal was hit by a catastrophic earthquake in 2015, Sri Lanka sprang into action, dispatching two SLAF C-130 aircraft with rescue teams and relief. They were the first foreign relief to reach Nepal by air, and the Nepalese have never forgotten our assistance. The Sri Lankan armed forces have well-trained teams, including mobile field hospitals and field kitchens, which could have been deployed by air or sea to Myanmar, a country with which we have long-standing ties, trade and history.  And it is within our area of influence in the Bay of Bengal. What the people of Myanmar need urgently is help in terms of rescue specialists and medical assistance. Ceylon tea and a $ 1 million will only help them later. Why the Government failed to act with the speed necessary while having a well-proven tool kit in the form of armed forces personnel defies belief.

Let us hope this Government gets its foreign policy act other, and soon, or the nation may have to pay dearly for their shortcomings.