India and Japan have jointly agreed to cooperate with Sri Lanka to bolster regional connectivity in the strategic Indo-Pacific amid China’s aggressive military manoeuvring in the region, a media report said.
The US, India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific. However, China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas. Beijing has also made substantial progress in militarising its man-made islands over the past few years.
Meanwhile, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay said that India and Japan share wide-ranging interests in a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, the media report said, quoting Sri Lankan media. Asserting that Sri Lanka is an important member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IROA) countries, Baglay had stated that there is a great deal of opportunity for India, Japan and Sri Lanka to work together for the prosperity of people here and the benefit of all sides, the report said.
Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mizukoshi Hideaki said that during Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent visit to India, the two countries exchanged views on cooperation with Sri Lanka and agreed to work closely: “I believe that connectivity is the best area to showcase how two countries can bring tangible benefits to the entire region including Sri Lanka. To this end, perspectives and insights from countries in the region are critical, and this report precisely addresses that.
Sri Lanka is a key part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a long-term plan to fund and build infrastructure linking China to the rest of the world. But China’s unproductive projects in Sri Lanka, including the Hambantota port, which Beijing took over on a 99-year lease in 2017 as a debt swap, have come under sharp criticism. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $ 3 billion bailout programme to help Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners, a move welcomed by Colombo as a ‘‘historic milestone’’ in the critical period. Last week, Sri Lanka received $ 330 million as the first tranche of the IMF bailout programme, which will pave the way for the debt-ridden country to achieve better ‘‘fiscal discipline’’ and ‘‘improved governance,’’ according to Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
(PTI)
Source By themorning.lk
