ExclusiveSri Lanka will stay neutral in China-India rivalry: Foreign Minister Ali Sabry

The island nation’s top diplomat said it would be better for the two Asian powers and the world if they could resolve their differences

Ali Sabry also expressed confidence in his country’s continuing efforts to finalise debt restructure negotiations after last year’s crisis

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Sri Lankan foreign minister Ali Sabry (left) with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing on Sunday. Photo: EPA

Published: 2:00pm, 29 Jun 2023Updated: 10:37am, 7 Jul 2023

Sri Lanka will not take sides between China and India, nor will it do anything to harm either country, the island’s top diplomat said, amid concerns that countries in the region could get caught in the crossfire of intensifying tensions between the Asian powers.

“We want India and China to talk to each other and resolve their differences and that will be better for both countries, better for the world,” Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, said in an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post.

Relations between Beijing and New Delhi have been deteriorating since their border clashes in the Himalayas turned deadly in 2020, raising fears that tensions could spill beyond the contested region.

Sri Lanka was drawn into the dispute last summer, when India lodged a verbal protest over its agreement for a People’s Liberation Army naval vessel’s planned visit to Hambantota.

New Delhi is concerned that the Chinese-built and leased port in Sri Lanka, strategically positioned at the top of the Indian Ocean, could be used by Beijing as a military base in India’s backyard.

Disagreements have continued to mount, with China and India ejecting most of each other’s journalists in a tit-for-tat row earlier this month.