Gulf states beware. Chinese policy towards Sri Lanka tells a cautionary tale

By James M. Dorsey

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China was quick to aid coronavirus-stricken Sri Lanka. Chinese magnanimity and speed in responding to the Indian Ocean island’s request contrasted starkly with Beijing’s more measured response to Africa’s needs, widely expected to be the pandemic’s next hotspot.

Geography was but one reason why China favoured the strategic island that straddles one of the Indian Ocean’s busiest shipping routes.

China was rewarding Sri Lanka for stalling military-related talks with the United States two years after the People’s Republic was accused of pursuing predatory debt trap diplomacy. Sri Lanka granted China in 2018 a far greater stake in its port of Hambantota at a moment that it was unable to service its debt to Beijing.

Sri Lanka has so far dragged its feet on signing a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States that would regulate the rights and privileges of visiting US military personnel.

The hold-up was prompted by Sri Lanka’s rejection of the terms of an associated US$480 million Millennium Challenge…