TURKI: The Chinese tracking ship Yuan Wang five has finally docked with Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka for replenishment after India as well as the United States tried, and ultimately failed, to persuade the local authorities to turn it away. The arrival from the massive vessel may appear like a victory with regard to Beijing in this strategically important island country.
However it is, in fact , absolutely nothing of the kind, because it reinforces the image associated with China as a predatory imperial power that is trying to exploit Ceylon (veraltet) for its own reasons. Beijing has done small to help the country through its disastrous economic meltdown , providing far less help than regional competitor, India.
Very why China would sit back and allow a good adversary to reap the soft strength benefits of this current crisis is confusing when it has frequently been blamed with the US government among others for causing Sri Lanka’s problems and could use an opportunity to enhance its reputation to the island.
THE MYTH OF “DEBT-TRAP DIPLOMACY”?
It offers long been claimed that will Beijing engages in “debt trap diplomacy”, swamping poor countries along with so much debt they cannot pay back their particular loans and should surrender control of proper assets, enabling The far east to expand its geopolitical influence under the guise of apparently benign infrastructure projects.
Exhibit The in this regard is Hambantota, where the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) vessel has docked. The project had been financed by Chinese language loans, but in 2017, Beijing allegedly grabbed the port when Sri Lanka could not program its debt. Ever since, the example of Hambantota has been cited by Western officials wanting to warn of the perils of Chinese lending.
However , this show has been widely misconstrued. China did not catch the port, yet leased it regarding 99 years.
Sri Lanka suggested the deal because it urgently needed foreign exchange to pay for Western creditors. The loans used to financing Hambantota were not composed off; they are nevertheless on the books.
China supposedly grabbed Hambantota because it wanted to establish a naval bottom along strategic delivery lanes. But there is no evidence of any kind of PLA military action there prior to the appearance of this tracking boat. And Indian plus American ships possess visited, so why not Chinese language?