(UTV|COLOMBO) – Pentagon’s annual report to Congress, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China in 2016, was released on 16 August, and has taken note of Sri Lanka’s deal with China on the Hambantota Port.
“China’s Leaders increasingly seek to leverage China’s growing economic, diplomatic, and military clout to establish regional pre-eminence and expand the country’s international influence. “One Belt, One Road,” now renamed the “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI), is intended to develop strong economic ties with other countries, shape their interests to align with China’s, and deter confrontation or criticism of China’s approach to sensitive issues. Countries participating in BRI could develop economic dependence on Chinese capital, which China could leverage to achieve its interests. For example, in July 2017, Sri Lanka and a Chinese State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) signed a 99-year lease for Hambantota Port, following similar deals in Piraeus, Greece, and Darwin, Australia,” the report noted.
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