US naval base rumours in Sri Lanka spark alarm as Washington and Beijing tussle for influence in Indo-Pacific

Talk of a tie-up with Uncle Sam to host a military base off the tip of southern India is increasingly dragging Sri Lanka into the US-China strategic struggle

Officials have vehemently denied speculation about a deal, but one analyst says deeper military ties are a ‘natural next step’

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The USS Carl Vinson. Could the American navy be stationed in Sri Lanka? Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00pm, 27 Jul 2019Updated: 4:13pm, 27 Jul 2019

Cambodian officials who struggled this week to swat away claims that the Southeast Asian country had signed a secret deal to allow the Chinese military to use one of its naval bases are likely to find sympathisers thousands of kilometres away, in Sri Lanka.

Authorities in the Indian Ocean island for months have found themselves pushing back – with little effect – against claims that they are making discreet plans to allow a permanent foreign presence on domestic shores.

But unlike the case of Cambodia, whose supposed China tie-up was reported by The Wall Street Journal and Financial Times this week – eliciting angry denials from strongman leader Hun Sen’s government – Sri Lankan officials are facing accusations they are doing a secret deal with Uncle Sam.

Sri Lanka-focused strategic analysts told This Week in Asia that the virulent resistance to the idea, despite repeated government denials, showed just how strongly citizens felt a foreign military base would hurt national interests.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (left) and President Maithripala Sirisena. Photo: AFP

Located off the tip of southern India, Sri Lanka has found itself increasingly a theatre for the US-China strategic tussle, with both superpowers seeking to increase their presence in the Indian Ocean.

While China has control over Sri Lanka’s US$1.5 billion Hambantota port city, it does not have rights to build a naval facility there.

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