Indian and US officials discuss Chinese influence in Maldives and Sri Lanka
By
K. Ratnayake
16 November 2017
According to Indian media reports, Atul Keshap, the US ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives, recently held talks with Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar over “ISIS threats” and Chinese influence in the South Asia region. The pair reportedly discussed ways of scuttling China’s economic weight in Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka and Maldives, only 983 kilometres apart, sit astride strategic Indian Ocean sea lanes, from the Strait of Hormuz in the west to the Malacca Strait in the east. The US regards both straits as choke points that could be used to block vital energy supplies and other imports to China in a war.
Emphasising the importance of its alliance with India, Washington, which previously referred to the “Asia-Pacific” to describe its efforts to isolate China, now says its operations cover the “Indo-Pacific.” US National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster declared last week in Beijing: “If you look at the geography and trade routes, the routes flow east and west across the Indo-Pacific region.”
In response to Washington’s increasingly provocative moves, China is stepping up its One Belt, One Road (OBOR) and associated Maritime Silk Road projects to ensure the free movement of its imports and exports. The US regards OBOR as a threat to its global hegemony.
After decades of “non-alignment,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed India into a “frontline state” in Washington’s moves against Beijing.
Reporting on high-level discussions between US Ambassador Keshap and Indian officials, a November 6 article by the Times of India ’s diplomatic editor Indrani Bagchi declared: “Maldives is a matter of particular concern….