By Natasha Fernando
Sri Lanka is a middle-income province that is strategically located inwards the Indian Ocean. It emerged from a three-decade civil state of war together with is directly inwards a post-conflict era, struggling to hold internal political together with economical stability piece maintaining friendly relations amongst the world. But Sri Lanka’s strategic place has led to geopolitical tensions amid major powers, all seeking to farther their ambitions inwards the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka has thence seen the construction of Chinese funded ports, Indian direction of national assets such every bit the Mattala airport, together with Japanese aid. Throughout its long battle amongst the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), the Sri Lankan authorities received considerable sum of military equipment past times means of sales from China, Pakistan, Russia, together with Israel.After the defeat of the LTTE, Sri Lanka has no conventional armed forces threat to face, but instead has to confront many nontraditional safety threats such every bit cyberattacks, piracy, illegal fishing, marine pollution, illegal migration, trafficking, together with smuggling of illegal contraband, transnational organized crime, etc. Sri Lanka every bit a pocket-sized isle province has limited resources to counter these threats together with against the electrical flow economical backdrop, unusual assistance is required – together with it must hold upwards handled cautiously. Sri Lanka’s powerfulness to obtain armed forces equipment via credit lines is limited piece donations are non ever given inwards expert faith. Hence, knowing how to strategically residuum the receipt of donations together with grants could hold upwards useful to Sri Lanka when facing the geopolitical game.
Sri Lanka’s Military Capability together with Recent Military Donations
Sri Lanka’s armed forces expenditure has seen an increment fifty-fifty after the cease of the civil state of war inwards 2009. This is due to the quest to hold the troops together with updated equipment, every bit good every bit the add-on of new institutions over the years. The Sri Lanka Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, together with Civil Security Department direct hold both recurrent together with uppercase expenditures, which fifty-fifty today draw concern human relationship for the highest allocations of the budget.
The electrical flow debt province of affairs inwards the province is worse together with is predicted to increment over the side past times side years unless the authorities opens upwards novel avenues for bilateral merchandise together with to a greater extent than investment opportunities, allowing Sri Lanka to gain revenue past times existence business office of global value chains. Although Sri Lanka’s cruel cycle of debt began amongst the previous authorities initiating large scale infrastructure developments, the introduce government’s mismanagement has resulted inwards the province falling fifty-fifty deeper into debt. As the Institute of South Asian Studies has highlighted “in 2015 [the kickoff yr of the Sirisena administration], outstanding domestic debts rose past times over 12 percentage due to excessive authorities spending together with unusual debt had increased past times 25 percentage past times the cease of that year.” Against such a backdrop, Sri Lanka is unable to motion into into whatever agreements to teach defence forcefulness equipment via credit lines — no affair how of import together with necessary that equipment mightiness be.
Strategizing Donations together with Grants
Against this sad economical backdrop, Sri Lanka has rattling footling selection but to direct hold armed forces donations. In this yr alone, mainland People's Republic of China gifted Sri Lanka a frigate, together with Zhou Chenming, a Beijing-based armed forces commentator has predicted that “it is possible mainland People's Republic of China volition give [Sri Lanka] i or ii more.” Also inwards 2018 Nippon donated ii coast guard patrol vessels, SLCGS Samudra Raksha together with SLCGS Samaraksha to Sri Lanka. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is also to render a grant assistance of 1.83 billion yen ($16.3 million) for the Project for the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement. Furthermore, the Australian authorities has provided ii principal engines for the Sri Lanka Navy Ship (SLNS) Mihikatha, which was a gift to Sri Lanka past times Australia. Australia-Sri Lanka defence forcefulness ties direct hold been lucrative since 2013, when navy boats were donated to foreclose human smuggling via maritime routes. Bharat has also been quite active, providing both gifts of vessels every bit good every bit preparation for members of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard on ship handling, span navigation, engine room controls, together with machinery.
But all these donations, gifts, together with capacity edifice direct hold been champaign of report to diverse criticisms. These criticisms span anti-military sentiment past times the Tamil diaspora together with also concerns from domestic interests groups inwards Sri Lanka, every bit inwards the instance of U.S. assistance. The Trump administration’s unusual assistance of $3.4 1000000 was criticized for existence a tool of U.S. unusual policy, amongst the destination of to maintaining U.S. potency inwards the Indian Ocean region. The States of America is also developing ties amongst the Sri Lanka Navy for conducting preparation together with articulation exercises. Sri Lanka must hold upwards clear-eyed: extraregional powers providing such assistance do so non solely for charitable purposes but to also strengthen their ain safety together with power.
Interestingly, the principal donations inwards the maritime sphere for Sri Lanka direct hold come upwards from countries of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue: the United States, Japan, Commonwealth of Australia together with India. This informal alliance has mainly been viewed every bit an endeavor to command the rising of China. However, at that spot are scholars who promote the thought that Quad countries should function together to promote liberty of navigation inwards the Indo-Pacific.
Conclusion
Countries volition locomote along to engage inwards providing assistance together with assistance to Sri Lanka, whether their motives are pure or not, together with Colombo has footling selection inwards whether or non to direct hold such assistance owing to the electrical flow economical crisis. Sri Lanka should obtain donations, but amongst careful assessments of the benefits to the country’s safety forces, every bit good every bit a careful reading into whatever legal agreements that mightiness accompany fifty-fifty grants together with donations.
Let us consider a hypothetical scenario: ii countries direct hold both expressed the intention to donate a surveillance frigate, but Country X has a status that its engineers tin engage inwards repairing together with maintaining the surveillance equipment, together with Country Y has no such status attached. Choosing Country Y over X is a wiser choice, fifty-fifty if Country X is to a greater extent than powerful inwards price of bargaining powerfulness together with has meliorate character equipment. In this way, Sri Lanka tin trammel weather condition that mightiness involve a subtle chemical constituent of unusual intervention.
Having thence concluded, Sri Lanka does non direct hold capacity to build its ain weapons, ammunition, together with vessels but may expect into avenues that volition enable them to bring together a value chain inside a global or regional armed forces industrial complex.
Natasha Fernando is Research Assistant at the Institute of National Security Studies, intend tank of the Ministry of Defense, Sri Lanka. These opinions do non reverberate the Government of Sri Lanka. Her views are independent.
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