Sri Lanka’s Strategic Autonomy plays out in key week in Geopolitics

By The News 1^st Current Affairs Desk

What does the President of Iran, a US-led Military training programme, An Indian Mystic Guru, a Vice Minister of the Chinese Communist Party & the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian ground forces all have in common?

Sri Lanka, apparently.

From ancient times, Sri Lanka has never been short of geopolitical intrigue. And this week in 2024 has proven once again that the island in the Indian Ocean punches above its weight in geopolitical terms.

The talk of the town for weeks was the impending visit by The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi. The visit, which was shrouded in doubt, was confirmed officially by the Sri Lankan government just under 48-hours before President Raisi touched down at the Mattala Airport. Arriving on the morning of the 24^th of April, President Raisi dashed across the country inaugurating a massive multi-purpose hydroelectric project in the rural heartland, signing multiple bilateral agreements and visiting Colombo’s Grand Mosque, before departing late on the same day. 

It was amidst the feverish activity surrounding the Iranian Presidents visit that China made a play, by sending Vice Minister of the International Department of the Chinese Communist Party, Sun Haiyan on an official visit and her first Port-of-Call was the Head Quarters of the Marxist JVP political party. Haiyan is also set to visit other political leaders during her stay in Sri Lanka.

And while the Iranians and Chinese were in Colombo, The United States Navy, US Marine Corps, and Sri Lanka Navy conducted the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) Sri Lanka 2024 exercise in Trincomalee. And on cue, a Russian delegation led by Major General Sviridov Vladimir, The Deputy Chief of Staff of the Land Forces of the Russian Armed Forces has been quietly meeting high-ranking military officials in the capital.

As if all of this wasn’t enough, a highly influential Indian mystic, Swami Govind Dev Giri Maharaj continued to travel to key sites across Sri Lanka to endorse the Ramayana Trail Project, aimed at deepening the historical and cultural bonds between India and Sri Lanka, particularly through the shared narrative of the Ramayana.

If the world today is a geopolitical thriller, Sri Lanka is surely its movie set.