Sri Lanka

India Condemns Chinese ‘Militarization’ of Taiwan Waters

The Indian government’s representative office in Sri Lanka used the term “militarization” in a post on Twitter on Saturday to describe China’s recent actions in the Taiwan Strait, which separates the sovereign island nation of Taiwan from China’s southeastern coast, the Hindu reported on Sunday, noting that it was the first time New Delhi had used such strong rhetoric to refer to the China-Taiwan dispute.

Two Taiwanese military corvettes sail during a Navy Drill for Preparedness Enhancement ahe

Sri Lankans Lament Death of Protest Movement Under Government ‘Witch Hunt’

The socialist government of Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe charged student protesters on Monday with violating the “Prevention of Terrorism Act” by holding a peaceful march, the latest in a string of actions supporters of the nation’s anti-government protest movement say are a “witch hunt” against legitimate complaints against corruption and incompetence.

Sri Lankan police officers wearing riot gear detain a protester during the Inter Universit

Sri Lankans Begin Flooding India in Burgeoning Migration Wave

At least six people arrived illegally in India’s Tamil Nadu state on Wednesday after traveling there by boat from Sri Lanka, an island nation located 34 miles off India’s southern coast at its shortest distance, the Hindustan Times reported on Thursday, noting that the incident was indicative of a growing migration wave as dozens of Sri Lankans have fled the financially troubled country for India since its economy effectively collapsed in March.

Drivers are waiting in long queues at an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) filling station in C

China Sends Survey Vessel to Sri Lankan Port it Controls, Irking India

China recently deployed a survey vessel to Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port — which Colombo ceded to Beijing on a 99-year lease in 2017 after defaulting on debt to China — Reuters reported on Thursday, noting that the vessel’s deployment to Sri Lanka has irked nearby India which denounced the Chinese research mission as a possible threat to New Delhi’s “security and economic interests.”

The warship formations of China and Russia sail through the Tsugaru Strait during the nava

China Calls Strong U.S. Dollar a ‘Crisis’

China’s state-run Global Times on Tuesday denounced the strong U.S. dollar as a “crisis” for the rest of the world because it increases the “financial risks facing emerging markets” and allegedly makes it harder for other nations to implement anti-inflationary policies.

Face to face of US dollar banknote and China Yuan banknote

Sri Lanka’s Envoy to Beijing: Blaming Chinese Debt Traps for Sri Lanka’s Collapse ‘Propaganda’

Sri Lanka’s ambassador to China Palitha Kohona told the Communist Party mouthpiece Global Times in an interview published on Monday that anyone blaming Beijing’s predatory loans for Sri Lanka’s economic disaster was spreading “convenient propaganda” and calling China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) a “debt trap” is a “gross exaggeration.”

People are protesting against rising living costs, amid the countrys economic crisis, in C

China Deflects Blame for Bankrupting Socialist Sri Lanka

China’s state-run Global Times published an editorial piece on Monday in which it attempted to deflect Beijing’s share of responsibility for Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis, caused in part by Colombo’s recent decision to default on its massive foreign debt, including a large amount owed to China.

A cargo ship is seen at the Sri Lankan ports authority Colombo, Sri Lanka. 9 July 2022. Sr

‘My Children Are Miserable’: Malnutrition Soars in Socialist Sri Lanka

The seemingly ceaseless economic crisis that has left most of Sri Lanka with no food, fuel, medicine, or basic goods and has severely compromised the nation’s power supply has prompted a growing wave of child malnutrition, the BBC observed in a report on Monday citing mothers in the country desperate to keep their children nourished.

In this picture taken on April 21, 2022, a child lies in a bed while his mother sits besid

Sri Lanka: Man Dies Waiting for Rationed Gasoline

A 53-year-old man died in Sri Lanka’s western town of Aluthgama on Tuesday while waiting in line for gasoline, which has been strictly rationed in the country since March because of a dire financial crisis, Sri Lanka’s News First website reported Wednesday.

Drivers are waiting in long queues at an Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) filling station in C

Starving Sri Lanka Shortens Work Week to Give People Time to Grow Food

Sri Lanka’s federal government on Monday approved a proposal that would shorten the work week of most public sector staff to four days so that they will have time to farm their own food crops, Reuters reported on Tuesday, noting the measure aims to combat Sri Lanka’s worsening food shortages caused by a recent economic crisis.

Farmers plant rice seedlings in a paddy field in Bandaragama, Sri Lanka, on June 5, 2022.

China Offers Sri Lanka Economic Aid After Destroying Its Domestic Industries

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Monday said he would ask China for foreign aid again, after Beijing turned down a proposed $1.5 billion currency swap. China was a major contributor to Sri Lanka’s economic implosion, having destroyed some of the island’s key industries and bankrolled its corrupt socialist government with loans that could never be repaid.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, poses for media before his meeting with Sri Lankan