Sri Lanka is a name that almost always comes up in the overall discussion on the geopolitics between India and China. While Sri Lanka has declared both countries partners of Sri Lanka’s progress, especially economically, the two countries have also recognised Sri Lanka as a friendly nation. However, neither India nor China likes to see Sri Lanka getting closer to either of the countries, and in a context where many of Sri Lanka’s affairs depend considerably on the support provided by and through partnerships entered into with the two countries, Sri Lanka has to walk a tightrope whenever the two countries’ interests collide. These sentiments became quite apparent on many occasions, especially when Sri Lanka directly or indirectly engaged in various activities with one country which the other linked to their security concerns.

In recent memory, Chinese vessels coming to Sri Lanka for purposes other than trade as well as for Sri Lanka’s military exercises with India, received great attention. These concerns were renewed when the Chinese geophysical and seismic survey vessel ‘Shi Yan 6’ was reported to have received permission to carry out research activities in the Sri Lankan waters. Reporting this development, Indian media outlets said that India has officially conveyed its concerns to Sri Lanka for ‘allowing a free run’ to the vessel at the Hambantota and Colombo Ports. According to the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), the data collected by the Chinese vessel will in its entirety be in the possession of NARA, and that the data will be considered a property of the Sri Lankan Government.

In a context where the Chinese vessel is for survey and research, and not for military or surveillance purposes, whether India is overreacting is a valid question. On several occasions, India has overacted to Sri Lanka’s dealings with China. However, India’s concerns cannot be ruled out as irrational, because security concerns may take various forms, and security threats are not always immediate. However, the real issue is that Sri Lanka appears to be in a situation where it is made to feel that it owes explanations, excuses and assurances to India or China, despite the fact that Sri Lanka is a sovereign and autonomous nation.

Sri Lanka should take this situation, which has remained for decades, more seriously. Given the nature of these two world powers’ responses to what they deem to be security concerns and Sri Lanka’s ties with them, Sri Lanka may never be able to create an environment where it is not expected to be considerate about those concerns. However, this is more of a matter of being transparent, assertive and credible, where the two countries respect Sri Lanka’s right to not be a victim of the two countries’ tensions, especially at the expense of its autonomy, preferences and well-being. However, Sri Lanka seems to be far from achieving such a position. The most recent example that shows it is the Government’s comments about the aforementioned Chinese vessel’s arrival. While the Defence Ministry was reported to have said that the green light had been given for the vessel to arrive in Sri Lankan waters, the Foreign Affairs Ministry was quoted as saying that the country is still considering China’s request to allow the same. In such a context, even if India’s concerns were irrational in reality, India is not to be blamed, because Sri Lanka, as the source in which India can place some level of trust out of China, is showing a serious lack of credibility.

While such domestic inadequacies should be rectified without delay, in a context where Sri Lanka’s economic crisis as well as global developments have increased the country’s dependency and interactions with the world, the country needs to be more assertive as far as its international ties are concerned. The first step in achieving that is having a strong foreign policy. Such a policy is necessary to put an end to unstable and opaque foreign policies that have allowed the country to take unilateral and unscientific and undiplomatic decisions that have eroded the trust that the international community, including its traditional allies such as India and China, had kept in Sri Lanka, and to display the country’s autonomy, credibility and also stability, even amidst a crisis. In this process, it is crucial to learn from its past mistakes, especially instances where the country had to suffer the consequences of not having a strong foreign policy.