Tying the knot

When the United Kingdom decided, by a narrow margin in popular vote, to exit from the European Union, it became clear to the Brits that breaking away could not be as simple as the 'Yes' or 'No' vote in the referendum. The 'Brexit' will require a painstaking and, to some, painful, process involving careful dis-entanglement from a myriad - literally tens of thousands - of laws, by-laws, regulations, covenants and institutional procedures through which the UK has engaged with the giant European single market and the complex political structure that ensures its continent-scale democratic governance.

Those Sri Lankans whose uncertainty over international practices, global systems and inter-state dealings, lead them to fear the 'foreign' can learn both negatively and positively from the Brexit experience. Firstly, while some British feared the 'foreigner' and therefore, wanted Brexit, the foreigners they feared most were those from the same continent and larger, continental culture, namely, Europe, while they were less concerned about migration from other parts of the world.

Does this not teach us that often one tends to fear more the rivalry of one's cultural peers rather than the overtures of more distant and less well known 'strangers'? Since we know our kin better, we tend to worry over all those characteristics that we know so well, whereas strangers could seem less inimical precisely because we know less to fear.

Secondly, the fundamental reason for the formation of the original European Community was the huge economic advantage to be gained from the 'common market'. And over the decades, that common market became more closely knit via labour sharing and trade simplifying systems. Profit, advantages, all accrue to one only when one deliberately engages and does so in a systematic manner that ensures the maximum benefits and best protection. Further, one of capitalism's historic fundamentals is that of scale of market and of production: bigger means greater economies of scale. Being part of a larger market and larger production platform enables one to reach higher levels of consumption and productivity and ultimately, affluence.

The UK's dis-entanglement will take years with also the possibility that when saner counsel takes over in the uncovering of these entanglements, there will be a readiness to preserve some of those very linkages so that they will continue to bring benefits to the UK.

The bottom line in all this is that neighbouring countries and regions are, by their very geographical proximity, inevitably and inextricably tied to each other with benefits and disadvantages arising from that proximity.

The geographical proximity of two States cannot be wished away but, rather, should be realistically acknowledged and engagements actively pursued to accrue the best advantages to both sides. When economic interaction cannot be avoided, it is better to be actively engaged rather than allowing piecemeal tie-ups that will not make the best of the relationship.

All these arguments are a prologue to an understanding of the ETCA debate. In the first place, there is little to debate, yet, since the Agreement is still to be finalised. But that is why the current worries need addressing as unfounded ones that arise from mere perceptions and speculation.

The fact is, that while Sri Lanka is set to negotiate closer trade linkages with China, India, Japan and some other major economies, all of these 'agreements' are not even half-way to completion, but yet there are Sri Lankans who seem to harbour greater fears over a trade agreement with neighbour India than with the other countries. As pointed out above, this 'fear' may arise from our intimate knowledge and experience of our neighbouring country over the millennia.

Some will want recall the history of invasions by chieftains and kings of southern India in inter-state rivalries between polities on both sides of the tiny Palk Strait that separates us from our continent. The terrors of the Chola and Pandya forces as described in our historical tales are then highlighted. Histories on the far side of the Straits also record the tribulations of - less frequent - invasions by Sri Lankan kings.

Far more Sri Lankans celebrate - and do so every year - the influx of high culture and, most importantly, of religion, from the continent to our island. When the all-powerful and all-conquering Emperor Asoka decided to save on troops and expenditure and expand his 'Pax Maurya' through the 'soft diplomacy' of religious conversion, our King Devanampiyatissa was among many smaller potentates who chose, wisely, to accept that soft diplomacy.

Today, no Sri Lankan Buddhist considers the 'arrival' of the Mahinda Mission to be that of an imperial imposition or a forced colonial conversion. Rather, thousands of Sri Lankans annually travel to the holy land of Dambadiva on pilgrimage, so much so that travel operators and hoteliers in Chennai know their Sinhala in order to handle this lucrative pilgrim traffic.

The fact of physical proximity must, today, be capitalised upon not only for future spiritual destinies of the faithful, but also the direct benefit of all Sri Lankans.

The Government is wisely negotiating trade and collaborative linkages across the broadest spectrum of directly economic as well as socio-economic - education, technology sharing - activity between India and Sri Lanka.

Indeed, as this newspaper reports today, the initial contours emerging from the ETCA negotiations already point to direct advantages to Sri Lanka in terms of more liberalised exports to and investments in our giant neighbouring market.

Once the Agreement is finalised and the first fruits accrue to both countries, it is just possible that those who voted for Brexit may see the flourishing of cross Straits links and regret the blind nationalism that pushed them away from the larger cross channel economic pie.

And Sri Lankans all so eager to benefit from the booming Indian market and India shopping may soon want to go beyond just trade and may envision a modern bridge in place of the mythological one. And ETCA will be a useful template for closer economic ties with those more distant economies. After all, the known Devil is better than . . .