Modi in Jaffna is ‘interference’, says Chinese newspaper

A prominent state-owned Chinese newspaper has called Indian Premier Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Jaffna as being Indian “interference” in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs. The article in the Global Times also implies a warning to Colombo to be cautious about cosying up to Delhi.

The criticism by a senior analyst in the Shanghai Insititutes for International Studies, was published on March 19 in an article in the Global Times English language newspaper, owned by the prestigious, government-owned, People’s Daily.

In his essay to the Global Times, the Institute’s assistant researcher Liu Zongyi describes Indian Premier Modi’s recent swing through three Indian Ocean island states, including Sri Lanka, as Delhi’s campaign to “counterbalance China’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean”.

The essay advises that “China should follow closely the reactions of both regional powers and small states when promoting its “One Belt and One Road” initiative, which refers to the Silk Road economic belt and the 21st century maritime Silk Road”.

The essay is ostensibly about Modi’s overtures to several Indian Ocean states, but mainly discusses Sri Lanka’s current engagement with India and goes on to warn Sri Lanka that :”…if the Sri Lankan government ignores China’s goodwill in a bid to cater to certain powers, it will hardly gain respect from the international community.

The Global Times essay claims that it was “only” China that supported Sri Lanka’s military suppression of the LTTE-led separatist insurgency. “Modi’s trip to Sri Lanka has courted attention from media outlets of many countries including China, with most of them believing New Delhi has gained the upper hand when Colombo halted the China-invested project,” it notes.

The essay argues that “historical disputes between India and Sri Lanka over the Tamil people and fishery resources will make it difficult for the two sides to build a rapport any time soon”. It charges that “Modi included in his Sri Lanka trip the city of Jaffna in the Tamil-majority Northern Province, which in fact shows India’s interference in the country’s internal affairs”.