China's agreement with Sri Lanka to develop the island nation's strategic port town of Hambantota has attracted controversy over insinuations that it is meant to usher in Chinese military presence in the Indian Ocean, with India being the most worried.
The Global Times reported that Sri Lankan Ambassador to China Karunasena Kodituwakku's remarks emphasizing that China would not allow any military activity in Hambantota was made to appease India, with University of International Relations associate professor Chu Yin calling it "unnecessary."
Chu added that the Belt and Road Initiative is intended for civilian development, and that China respects the security concerns of countries where it invests on infrastructure. He then went on to say that India is merely "interfering" with Sri Lanka's domestic issues.
Another expert, professor Lin Minwang of the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, weighed in on the issue, saying that it was India who Sri Lanka approached first for funding Hambantota's development, only for it to defer over financial constraints and issues on competition with its own ports.
Yahoo Finance reported that the Belt and Road Initiative is seen by Sri Lanka as an "economic lifeline" that can help offset its own debt problems, with Hambantota being among the major recipients of China's near-$2 billion investment in the country.
However, groups in Sri Lanka opposed to Chinese infrastructure investment in the country said that the deal benefits China more than anyone else. Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who once allowed Chinese investments during his term, is among those vehemently opposing the move.
Fears over Sri Lankans losing their land on areas where China will build their infrastructural developments have stoked violent demonstrations. Rajapaksa's successor, Maithripala Sirisena, once called Chinese infrastructure deals "unfair," ended up signing a $1.2 billion deal with China Merchants Port Holdings.
The deal, which is set to last 99 years, leases 80 percent of the port at Hambantota to China Merchants Port Holdings. Sri Lanka's burgeoning debts may have prompted Rajapaksa to agree with the deal, despite the country having a $1.5 billion, three-year loan deal with the IMF signed in 2016.