China’s Buddhist diplomacy in Sri Lanka: the motorway to enlightenment?
Beijing’s billion-dollar loan to Colombo for major infrastructure project is latest example of battle for influence in Southeast Asia’s Buddhist countries
For those who understand the Chinese brand of engagement in Sri Lanka, new initiatives such as the recent US$1.1 billion loan Beijing gave to the island nation to build a motorway should not come as a surprise.
This is merely the latest manifestation of “Buddhist diplomacy”, a term used by some analysts to describe efforts by China and India to embrace Buddhism as a tool in gaining influence in predominately Buddhist countries such as Sri Lanka.
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The Chinese could have left in a huff, abandoning the contested projects, but instead chose to be level-headed, says Arun Tambimuttu, a community organiser and an adviser to the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“They opted to renegotiate all the deals, and chose to hang in there,” Tambimuttu says.
Sri Lanka has become a crucial player in the belt and road plan thanks to its strategic ports in the Indian Ocean – and policymakers in Colombo are keenly aware of this.
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“Chinese influence in Sri Lanka is growing but the possibility that Sri Lanka is driving that relationship cannot be overlooked,” says Jack Goodman, a visiting researcher at the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka.
