The US Wants Sri Lanka to Become Its “Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier in South Asia”

By Andrew Korybko

Global Research, July 12, 2019

The US’ interest in replacing the 1995 Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Sri Lanka stems from its desire to turn the island nation into its unsinkable aircraft carrier in South Asia and possibly even the base of a prospective “Eighth Fleet” tasked with controlling the so-called “Indian Ocean”, but its long-term strategic plans won’t succeed unless Washington ensures that incumbent leader and vehement opponent of this deal President Sirisena loses the upcoming elections later this year and is therefore unable to stop this scheme from entering into force.

Sri Lanka catapulted to global attention a few months ago when it was victimized by one of the worst-ever suicide bombing attacks since 9/11, but the island nation’s latest security-related crisis is conspicuously being ignored by the Mainstream Media. Its pro-Western Prime Minister is collaborating with the US to replace the 1995 Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in order to make it easier for the American military to deploy to the country at will, which prompted the patriotic president to promise that “I will not allow the SOFA that seeks to betray the nation. Some foreign forces want to make Sri Lanka one of their bases. I will not allow them to come into the country and challenge our sovereignty.” Only regional outlets reported on this simmering political-security crisis even though it has global strategic implications in the event that America achieves its tacit goal of turning the country into its unsinkable aircraft carrier in South Asia.

The Pentagon’s newly published “Indo-Pacific” Strategy Report makes it clear that it intends to establish and maintain dominance over the so-called “Indian Ocean” through which a significant share of the global commercial and energy trade traverses in order to “contain” China in the New Cold War. The recent rebranding of the Pacific Command to the “Indo-Pacific” Command emphasizes the operational importance that the US places on this body of water, so it’s only natural that the next step might be the creation of an “Eighth Fleet” tasked with controlling it. Accordingly, while the strategically positioned British-owned but US-leased island of Diego Garcia might seem like the most logical place to base it at, the tiny atoll is far away from the Afro-Eurasian landmass and therefore ill-suited for taking on such a role. Instead, Sri Lanka would make a much better location because of its proximity to the US’ new military-strategic ally India and being astride the global shipping routes on which a lot of the Chinese economy depends.

Sri Lanka Slammed the “Indo-Pacific” Concept as a Threat to China and Russia

The only way to ensure that the US’ long-term strategic plans succeed is for President Sirisena to lose the upcoming elections that are scheduled for later this year. The Sri Lankan leader’s political career perfectly encapsulates the strategic dilemma in which his country has found itself. When his predecessor (and recent political ally Rajapaksa) openly embraced China as a “balancing” force for guaranteeing Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in the face of the threats posed by the nearby rising Indian hegemon, he channeled the West’s infowar against its Belt & Road Initiative (BRI) deals (and especially the one in Hambantota) to rally the masses with populist rhetoric and narrowly win the 2015 election. Rajapaksa blamed India’s foreign intelligence service for meddling in the run-up to the vote and being responsible for his defeat, which in hindsight was probably true after Sirisena temporarily pivoted towards New Delhi and its Washington patron immediately after his victory. The “honeymoon” was short-lived, however, since he eventually decided to reorient towards China in order to “balance” out the excessive influence that those two Great Powers began to wield over Sri Lanka.

His attempt to replace his ardently pro-Western Prime Minister late last year with Rajapaksa of all people in order to ensure the success of his new “balancing” policy engendered a constitutional crisis that ultimately ended in failure, which resulted in the irreconcilable polarization in the country that some have claimed made the Easter suicide attacks much easier to carry out. In any case, Sri Lanka is divided like never before, and the US’ efforts to push through its revised SOFA are only accentuating the differences within the country and pushing its government closer to the edge of collapse. Barring any unforeseen circumstances such as Sirisena selling out to the US, he’s expected to keep his promise to fight tooth and nail against any deal that infringes on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, with it also being in the back of his mind that he needs to do so in order to stand the best chance of winning re-election. That being the case, it can be anticipated that America will covertly work together with India to attempt a repeat of RAW’s 2015 election meddling to try to unseat the patriotic incumbent and advance their agenda for turning the island nation into their joint protectorate.

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This article was originally published on Eurasia Future.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Andrew Korybko, Global Research, 2019

https://www.globalresearch.ca/us-wants-sri-lanka-become-its-unsinkable-aircraft-carrier-south-asia/5683391


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Sri Lanka Slammed the “Indo-Pacific” Concept as a Threat to China and Russia

By Andrew Korybko

Global Research, May 08, 2019

Somewhat surprisingly, tiny Sri Lanka has emerged as the loudest voice in South Asia opposing the “Indo-Pacific” concept that New Delhi and Washington are jointly pursuing, pointing out how it’s “aimed at restraining China and even the Greater Eurasia by creating military unions between countries”, but the strong statement issued by the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia might also have been intended to alter the dynamics of his country’s ongoing “deep state” civil war.

Small State, Loud Voice

Tiny Sri Lanka has been making global headlines ever since the Easter terrorist attacks last month, but the latest official statement coming out of the country hasn’t received the press that it deserves. The Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia gave an interview to his host country’s prestigious publicly funded international media outlet TASS where he praised the idea that President Putin originally put forth during his speech at the UN General Assembly in September 2015 for forging an inclusive anti-terrorist coalition, but it was what he said afterwards that truly deserves international attention, at least within the South Asian region. On the topic of forming military blocs, he said that:

“As for military pressure, it will take the world back to the colonial era but we are living in the 21st century. In the past, military methods were used to put pressure on economically emerging countries. Such practices are completely unacceptable, they damage the idea of peaceful co-existence. There is a project such as ASEAN, which focuses on Asian countries. This project is more worthy of respect than the so-called Indo-Pacific project aimed at restraining China and even the Greater Eurasia by creating military unions between countries.”

Russia’s “Return To South Asia”

In other words, he contrasted Russia’s calls for an inclusive anti-terrorist coalition without ulterior motives to be secretly used against any state-level third parties with the exclusive transregional military bloc being created by the US and India with the tacit purpose of “containing” China and even Russia. It’s actually for this reason why Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov condemned the “Indo-Pacific” in February as an “artificially imposed” pro-American concept immediately prior to Moscow officially returning to South Asia by offering to host Indo-Pak peace talks in order to restore “balance” to this externally destabilized region. In parallel with that, Russia endorsed Pakistan’s geostrategic importance and fully committed itself to China’s Belt & Road Initiative (BRI).

After Brazil, India Might be the Next BRICS Country Invited to Join NATO

Sri Lanka’s “Deep State” Civil War

Returning to the specific news item that inspired the present analysis, there are likely several interconnected reasons why the Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia slammed the “Indo-Pacific” concept. The first is that he probably wanted to impress his hosts and signal that his country is in strategic alignment with them on this very important issue, but remembering the high level of Indian influence in his country since the 2015 elections narrowly unseated civil war hero former President Rajapaksa as a result of RAW’s meddling, his move might be part of Sri Lanka’s ongoing “deep state” civil war between pro-Indian liberals and pro-sovereignty conservatives.

This could especially be the case if Sri Lanka was secretly approached by the US and/or India to join the “Indo-Pacific” concept shortly after its disastrous terrorist attacks in exchange for so-called “anti-terrorist” assistance. Sri Lanka remembers India’s support for the LTTE terrorist group, and while the pro-Indian liberals seemingly don’t care, the rising pro-sovereignty conservatives obviously do and would therefore be opposed to joining the “Indo-Pacific” concept in principle in order to preserve their country’s sovereignty and avoiding voluntarily turning it into an Indian vassal state that would certainly be abused by its new patron. This isn’t mere speculation either since Ambassador Dayan Jayatilleka is a close ally of former President Rajapaksa.

The UK-based online opposition outlet “Colombo Telegraph” noted around the time of his nomination as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Russia that the former Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva is former President Rajapaksa’s “close confidante”. It also published a leaked email between him and the former President late last year where Ambassador Jayatilleka blamed the country’s political crisis on the US and urged the country’s then-Prime Minister to mobilize society in order to defeat the counterrevolution. He proudly defended his words but clarified that they were written in a private capacity. This proves without a doubt that Ambassador Jayatilleka is a true believer in the emerging Multipolar World Order just like his Russian hosts are.

Concluding Thoughts

In any case, there should be no question that while the reportedly left-leaning Ambassador Jayatilleka isn’t a conservative, he definitely isn’t a liberal either, but regardless of how one would classify his political beliefs, such a description shouldn’t leave out that he’s strongly in support of Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. With his country’s ongoing “deep state” civil war as the contextual background to his sharp criticism of the “Indo-Pacific” concept, it becomes clear that his words represent the official policy of President Sirisena, former President Rajapaksa’s recent ally, and are intended to thwart whatever devious plans their rivals are pursuing to exploit the latest terrorist attacks in order to subjugate Sri Lanka to joint Indo-American hegemony.

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This article was originally published on Eurasia Future.

Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research.

The original source of this article is Global Research

Copyright © Andrew Korybko, Global Research, 2019

https://www.globalresearch.ca/sri-lanka-indo-pacific-concept-threat-china-russia/5676935

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10 Questions on Sri Lanka Easter Day Bombings?

By Binu Mathew

Asia-Pacific Research, April 27, 2019

Countercurrents 24 April 2019

The Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed more than 350 people including foreign nationals raise several pertinent questions

1. Why did the bombings receive far less foreign media coverage than the Christchurch (NZ) terrorist attack and the Notre Dame (Paris) fire?
2. Why was the intelligence warning which came on April 4 ignored and even withheld according to Sri Lankan minister Lakshman Kiriella
3. It was India which gave the intelligence warning. How did India get this information?
4. Why was little known group National Thowheeth Jama’ath named in the intelligence report?
5. Why was Sri Lanka’s booming tourism industry was attacked?
6. Why was ISIS which is virtually unknown in Sri Lanka allegedly claim responsibility three days after the terrorist attacks?
7. How is it that ISIS which was decimated in the Middle East managed to carry out these massive coordinated attacks in Sri Lanka where they do not have any strategic base or interest?
8. Why ISIS?
9. Why would the persecuted Muslim minority in Sri Lanka carry out a terrorist attack on another minority group?
10. Who benefits?

I hope that journalists who report the Sri Lanka terrorist attacks will keep these questions in mind while filing their report. Reporters should not be stenographers.

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Copyright © Binu Mathew, Countercurrents, 2019

https://www.asia-pacificresearch.com/sri-lanka-easter-day-bombings/5628583

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US shift on Sri Lankan war crimes probe exposes Tamil nationalists

By K. Nesan 

1 September 2015

US Assistant Secretary of State Nisha Biswal’s announcement that Washington is retracting its call for an international probe into the massacre of Tamils at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war exposes the bankruptcy of Tamil nationalism.

The US-sponsored resolution demanding an international probe in 2014 was a cynical ploy to pressure then-Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa to abandon his orientation to China. The US-engineered regime change operation that ousted Rajapakse and installed Sirisena as president in January brought Sri Lanka back in the orbit of US foreign policy. Washington no longer had any interests in investigating the crimes carried out by top officials of its proxy regime in Colombo, and it rapidly dropped the call for the probe.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had offered full-throated support to the new Sri Lankan regime, promoting illusions that it would participate in an international probe, as part of a broader political solution for the Tamil people. The TNA-led Northern Provincial Council (NPC) passed a resolution in February supporting such a probe. After Biswal’s comments, these illusions are now in shambles.

A five-member delegation from the Tamil Nationalist Alliance (TNA) met Biswal in Colombo. After the meeting, in a “Lankasri” radio interview, TNA leader Sampanthan said nothing about the shift in the US policy pulling back from demanding an international inquiry.

Asked what moves the TNA would take in future, Sampanthan said: “We will take all the necessary steps. We can’t speak publicly about this, it is not necessary to do so. We have said everything in our election manifesto and explained to the people in our campaign. We would continue with our work.”

Sampanthan’s insistence that the people do not need to know what the TNA is doing exemplifies the Tamil nationalists’ utter contempt for the workers and poor whom Sampathan asked a few weeks ago to elect 20 TNA members to parliament. For him, they have no right to know about the machinations between the TNA and US imperialism behind closed doors.

M.A.Sumanthiran, a TNA member of parliament from Jaffna, signaled that the TNA would accept an internal investigation by the Sri Lankan officials with international participation, the mechanism now being proposed by Washington. He told the New Indian Express, “We cannot get justice if it is purely a Lankan domestic mechanism. It has to be an internationalised investigation. The involvement of international experts is a must.”

Behind the scenes, Washington made very clear to the Tamil nationalists that it would not tolerate any rhetoric about war crimes that could destabilise the Colombo regime.

C.V. Wigneswaran, the chief minister of the Tamil-majority North Province, visited the US in July and was sent home with the message that Washington would set the TNA’s line. The Sri Lankan Sunday Times wrote that he received “tough tuition” from the US State Department, as “he had been told to work towards reconciliation, reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Northern Province rather than up his rhetoric on genocide charges. He had been told that it was the best chance for him to work with the Sirisena-Ranil Wickremesinghe Government.”

Wigneswaran received his marching orders from Washington loud and clear. He issued a press statement on his return that Tamils would vote for a party that genuinely represented the interests of the Tamil people. He has since refrained from attending TNA meetings or any other political events.

The shift in the US policy has unleashed a political crisis within Tamil nationalist circles. TNA leaders and supporters expressed dismay. In a pathetic bit of bravado, TNA parliament member Sritharan told Tamilwin: “we don’t need to accept what America says, we want international mediation.”

However, the Tamil daily Thinakkural wrote: “Small nations and minorities are clearly playthings in the hands of the big powers with various interests in the region”.

The crimes of the Sri Lankan civil war are inseparably bound up with bourgeois rule in the country. Neither the various factions of Sri Lankan ruling class nor their foreign patrons have any interest in investigating these crimes or punishing those who are responsible.

It is not necessary to identify who carries the politically responsibility for the destruction and massacres during the civil war. The leaders in the current US-backed government and the opposition were involved in the Sri Lankan state’s declaration of all-out war on the Tamils.

President Sirisena was directly involved in the renewal of the war in 2006, as a minister in government at the time, and then as a top official in the ruling party in the final stages of the fighting.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe—as opposition leader at the time—never expressed even symbolic opposition to the war in the parliament.

Chandrika Kumaratunga, a member of the Clinton Foundation heavily involved in the US regime change operation in January installing Sirisena as a president, was president between 1994 and 2005 and succeeded by Mahinda Rajapakse.

Sarath Fonseka was the commander of the army leading the war in 2009. He was arrested in February 2010 under Rajapakse on charges such as conspiring to overthrow the government, then released on May 2012. Within two weeks of taking the office in January, Sirisena gave him a presidential pardon, restoring his military rank and decorations. He was promoted to field marshal in March.

On May 7, Sirisena appointed Major General Jagath Dias as the army chief of staff. Dias was in command of the 57th division of the army during the war. Rajapakse appointed him ambassador to Germany and Switzerland after the war in 2009.

At the end of 2011, Dias faced war crimes charges in Switzerland. The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) produced a report accusing Dias of committing grave violations of human rights and of suspected involvement in torture and extra-judicial killings.

By supporting a government consisting of such figures, the TNA has made itself complicit in allowing the crimes of the civil war to go unpunished.

During the 2015 presidential elections, it supported Sirisena on the grounds that he would carry out a “democratic transformation” in Sri Lanka. The TNA hailed the US resolution in 2014 proclaiming the international inquiry was the prelude to a political solution. Its concern is not the democratic aspirations of the masses, but working behind their backs for a deal with imperialism to benefit the Tamil capitalists.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/09/01/tnaw-s01.html

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