Chapter 2: China, BRI, and Sri Lankan Foreign Policy

The following sections are included:

• Geopolitical Scales of One Belt One Road

• The Geopolitics of Ports and the Silk Road of the Sea

• China’s Growing Influence in the Indian Ocean: Implications for Sri Lanka and its Regional Allies

  • Geostrategic significance of Sri Lanka

  • China’s sphere of influence and Sino–Lankan relationships

  • Indo–Lanka relationship vs. the Chinese sphere of influence

  • The way forward

• The Indo-Pacific Region and Geopolitics of BRI: A Sri Lankan Perspective

  • Indo-Pacific

  • Indo–US partnership

  • Quad and counterbalancing Chinese influence

  • China’s predatory loans

  • CPEC

  • Declining US power

  • Eurasian trade

  • Sri Lankan foreign policy: Oscillating between two poles

• Sri Lanka and Maldives: The Chinese and Indian Influences

  • Sri Lankan domestic politics

• Sri Lanka’s Role in BIMSTEC at 20

  • Internal political challenges and promoting multilateralism

  • Strengthening economic cooperation

  • Counter-terrorism, transnational crime, and intelligence sharing

  • Intelligence sharing

  • Democracy: Rule of law

  • Leadership of the Secretariat

• Challenges to Multilateralism in South Asia

  • Multilateralism in South Asia: A possibility?

  • Poverty and education

  • Limitations in promoting multilateralism

  • Time before SAARC

  • SAARC

  • Conclusion

• Military–Political Dimension among CICA Members