India is looking at a “recalibration” of its bilateral ties with Sri Lanka as China is gaining massive inroads in the Indian Ocean island nation, ThePrint reported today (14). Colombo had last month decided to go ahead with the controversial $1.4 billion special economic zone (SEZ) project, the Colombo Port City project, funded by Beijing. Last month, the Sri Lankan parliament passed a controversial bill — the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Bill — which will establish a Colombo Port City Special Economic Zone (SEZ) and the Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC). The bill was passed despite stiff resistance from opposition parties and concerns that the Colombo Port City could turn into a ‘Chinese province’ inside Sri Lanka. Ties between India and Sri Lanka began plummeting in February when Colombo scrapped the strategically important East Container Terminal at Colombo port, which was a tripartite pact with Japan.

Source: The Nation June 14, 2021 04:52 UTC