China in Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands: Role of Littorals in the Geopolitical Competition

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera
Abstract:
This issue brief discusses the growing Chinese sphere of influence in Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands, its impact on the region and on the regional powers, India and Australia. The Rajapaksa regime in Sri Lanka and Sogavare administration in Solomon Islands face significant geostrategic competition where security agreements and multiple infrastructure projects are carried out in the littorals by extra-regional powers. Both regimes faced public protest, and are seen as fragile democracies where Chinese maneuvers are visible. China is making inroads using the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to expand into Sri Lanka’s regional provinces. How do Sri Lanka and Solomon Islands threaten their immediate regional power? How can the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF)/Quad help vulnerable nations to realign with a rules-based order? What is the role of littorals in the security balance?
Related Publications
-
Russian Foreign Policy under Putin: What Does it Mean for India?
Abstract: The special and privileged strategic partnership between India and Russia has been under renewed scrutiny since the latter launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. New Delhi has […]
-
Seoul’s Changing Indo-Pacific Manifesto and India: Policy Prescriptions for India-ROK Ties
Abstract: China’s stupendous rise and the subsequent rivalry with the US for global hegemony have forced countries to choose sides; caught between a rock and a hard place, middle powers […]
-
West Asian minilateral geometry and India: Will I2-U2 usher the elusive peace?
Introduction: In April, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani Al Zeyoudi, announced that the recently concluded free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the […]
-
Missing a Common Synergy: The India-Japan Divide on Ukraine
Introduction: In April 2022, the successful bilateral of New Delhi and Tokyo witnessed the emergence of a disagreement between the partners. Japan sought permission to land a C-2 transport plane […]
-
Furthering an EU-India Supply Chain Connect in the Indo-Pacific
Introduction: The globalized economic world order has promulgated a widespread cause and effect impact. As a consequence, the onset of the Ukraine crisis will not only spike oil and gas […]
-
The Geopolitical Aftershocks of the China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement
Introduction: Chinese President Xi Jinping, shortly after taking office, remarked in 2012 that “the vast Pacific Ocean has ample space for China and the United States.” The comment was made at a […]