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By Hao Zhou Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna will visit Sri Lanka over the weekend and open two Indian consulates on the island nation to keep up with China's expanding presence there, Indian media reported Wednesday. Starting his four-day visit today, Krishna will open Indian consulates in Jaffna and Hambantota - a move that will see India pushing for a "meaningful devolution" in the island nation, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported. The minister will also participate in the inauguration of a pilot project of 1,000 house units for displaced Tamil civilians and a project for rail links in Sri Lanka's north, IANS said. New Delhi wants to "send a message that, with India's expanding presence in the island nation, it's not playing second fiddle to the Chinese," the Times of India said Wednesday. With massive Chinese-supported infrastructure projects in Sri Lanka, "China had posed a direct challenge to India's influence in its strategic backyard," the newspaper added. In response, Wang Dehua, an expert on South Asian issues at the Shanghai International Studies Center, called for India to let go of its "Cold War mentality." "The friendship between China and Sri Lanka was not established by a single port investment or in one day," Wang told the Global Times. China was investing in Sri Lanka when other countries were reluctant to invest there during its war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Wang noted. "India is now learning from China to build up friendly and mutually benefiting ties with South Asian countries. Beijing will not oppose New Delhi's moves to expand aid to Sri Lanka, but India's moves must be confined in goodwill to maintain regional peace and security," he added. Sources said New Delhi is also considering resuming military sales to Colombo as its economy is recovering from the defeat of the LTTE rebels. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, also the country's finance minister, announced Monday a package of tax-reform measures aimed at boosting the nation's economy. Sri Lankan Deputy Minister for Economic Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardene told the BBC Sinhala Service on Tuesday that China, already the biggest lender for Sri Lanka, has so far pledged more than $3 billion for infrastructure development, maintenance and other projects in the island nation. China has finished the first phase of the major sea port of Hambantota on the southern Sri Lankan coast, which was opened for business a week ago. Rajiv Ratna Gandhi, a former prime minister of India, was assassinated by the LTTE in 1991. After the assassination, India remained cold to Sri Lanka until the rebel group was defeated last year. Agencies contributed to this story |
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