Sri Lanka

Chinese reaction to the Sri Lankan Ministry of Agriculture’s decision to cancel an organic fertiliser deal has demonstrated that China is not hesitant to take punitive action against Sri Lanka, if its interests are not fulfilled.

• Gulbin Sultana
• February 10, 2022
• Issue Brief

The growing assertion of presidential executive powers in the absence of parliament poses a critical challenge to functioning democracy in Sri Lanka.

• Gulbin Sultana
• July 17, 2020
• Issue Brief

The Sri Lanka Easter bombings has allowed ISIS chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi to launch a public relations offensive and enunciate a dangerous new strategy.

• Adil Rasheed
• May 06, 2019
• IDSA Comments

Regional strategic dynamics in South Asia is in a state of flux since the announcement of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China emphasises on the economic aspect of investment in infrastructures and energy projects, but strategic underpinning are very much apparent. China loan has created indebtedness in these countries and has helped Beijing to gain strategic foothold in the region which India considers as core to its security. India’s aid programme though focuses on the neighbourhood, it remains small compared to China and suffers from delivery deficit.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• May 2019
• Strategic Analysis

The Easter bomb blasts is a grim reminder of how the undercurrent of ethno-religious violence remains a dominant factor in Sri Lanka’s chequered history.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• April 29, 2019
• IDSA Comments

Sri Lankans love to project their country as the land of serendipity. So, when the island country saw the back of a four-decade-old violent Tamil insurgency in 2009, it was expected that it would surge ahead in a serendipitous way. The turn of events ever since has, however, proved that the country has not been that fortunate. In fact, immediately after the conclusion of the war, Sri Lanka (re)lapsed into multiple crises, occasioned by a regime which functioned in an authoritarian manner.

• Ashok K. Behuria
• March 2018
• Strategic Analysis

It appears that in order to earn the trust of China and the G7 countries, Sri Lanka has de-emphasised its relationship with India for the time being.

• Gulbin Sultana
• July 01, 2016
• Issue Brief

This article explores the backdrop of the engagement between the International Community (IC) and the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) over the conduct of the military during the last stages of its engagement with the secessionist Tamil militants which (especially from January to May 2009) led to a humanitarian crisis. The efforts of the IC to persuade the GoSL to halt the military operations and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to concede defeat, to ensure human security, were a failure.

• Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe
• July 2016
• Strategic Analysis

Maritime security challenges in the Indian Ocean Region continue to be an issue of concern and this effective regional mechanism needs to be strengthened to deal effectively with them.

• Aman Saberwal
• March 22, 2016
• IDSA Comments

International oversight in the form of a panel of judges and the UNHRC mechanism in general are likely to help address the apprehensions of the Tamils about a domestic investigation mechanism.

• Smruti S. Pattanaik
• October 06, 2015
• IDSA Comments