Here’s a fascinating development that illustrates the brilliance of China’s expansionistic plans. You may recall that in 2018 China negotiated a 99 year lease for the Sri Lanka port of Hambantota (see, “China Seizes Sri Lanka Port”).
Now, a few years later, Sri Lanka is apparently in the midst of total collapse and anarchy.
Sri Lanka is in the middle of a full-scale collapse after the president announced the nation is “bankrupt,” having run out of both money and energy.[1]
How did this occur?
Sri Lanka’s government has been implementing ESG policies (environment, social, and governance) for years, following the lead of the World Economic Forum. That includes banning agrochemicals such as fertilizers in an effort to lower nitrogen emissions. Flowery tales of “organic” farming and saving the planet have now been replaced with horror, as the island nation’s top exports have been laid to waste. People are starving, they can’t get gas or electricity, and none of the globalists who used Sri Lanka as a testbed for their green fantasies are coming to help.[1]
I won’t go any further than that with the hows and whys since this is a naval website. You can investigate the causes on your own, if you’re interested.
What this means is that the one organization on Sri Lanka that will continue to function and function quite well is … yes … the Chinese establishment at Hambantota. In fact, if Sri Lanka totally collapses, this would give China the immediate presence and access to implement life-saving measures for the populace - in exchange for greater access, control, and dependence of the people on China, of course. This would allow a ‘soft’ takeover of the country.
Alternatively (or in combination), China could opt to declare martial law over the entire country, in the name of protecting Chinese ‘civilians’ in the country. Either way, China could wind up owning the country, if they so choose.
I can’t imagine that China isn’t gleefully rubbing their hands together at this development. What is the US doing while this is happening? Nothing that I’m aware of.
You’ve got to acknowledge brilliance when you see it. China is on the verge of ‘conquering’ an entire strategically vital country without firing a shot and may even be perceived as saviors!
Note: Ref [2] has a nice write up about the Sri Lanka state of affairs.
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[1]Redstate website, “WATCH: Protesters Storm Presidential Palace in Sri Lanka After Climate Hysteria Destroys the Nation”, Bonchie, 9-Jul-2022,
[2]https://www.aidiaasia.org/research-article/will-hambantota-port-become-a-chinese-military-base
Given that China still occupies the same territory after 2200 years, and that its claims to the South China Sea are unaltered, it's hard to see how you get from having an (unwanted) 25 year lease on a port to "China’s expansionistic plans".
ReplyDeleteSetting aside the self-delusional aspect of your comment, the Hambantota lease is for 99 years, not 25.
DeleteYou would do well to thoroughly review the blog archives concerning China's expansion plans and actions.
Good post.
ReplyDeleteAlso, expanding on it: isn't there a real risk of the local population coming to perceive "Westerners" as bringers of famine and poverty, while seeing China as a source of order and security?
The Chinese got a lot of bad press of the Sri Lankan port deal back in 2018. The new "checkbook colonialism"
Deletereplacing the gun boats of the 19th century.
Westerners are the old bad guys, Chinese are the new bad guys.
"Westerners are the old bad guys, Chinese are the new bad guys."
DeleteThat's an interesting take. I would note, however, that while the West eventually came to be sensitive to their colonial ways and how they were perceived and eventually granted independence to most colonies and territories, the Chinese seem not to care how they are perceived. As long as they achieve their expansionist goals, China seems perfectly happy to be the 'bad guy'.
"..the Chinese seem not to care how they are perceived."
DeleteIn the case of a countrys economic collapse, they could likely be seen as saviors. A rebuilt Chinese controlled socialist govt. that "helps" the people will likely go over well. Of course the fact that communism always ends up with folks lined up in front of a wall.... Well, that comes later, and people with empty stomachs usually forget history...
Looks like another "win" for the Chinese, unless someone else outplays them...
"... isn't there a real risk of the local population coming to perceive "Westerners" as bringers of famine and poverty, while seeing China as a source of order and security?"
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it, but would they be off base to view it that way?
Lutefisk
China may be to busy with it's own problems. They are having a major bank run in Henan right now. https://t.co/JAhUIllnPL
ReplyDeleteI hope the lack of US action in this case is because they are quietly encouraging India to take the lead on this issue. It’s there backyard after all.
ReplyDeleteIt’s always been a mystery to me why the two largest democracies in the world, who share a distrust of China are not the closest of allies.
It’s time all democracies united against totalitarian regimes, if we don’t we may not survive as free societies.
MA
" the brilliance of China’s expansionistic plans" this reminds me the role of American Banks and other institute during WW1 and WW2. They literally LIQUIDATED all European Empires especially French and British Empire in WW2.
ReplyDeleteErr Sri Lanka is collapsing for the the reasons typical in in many countries and not some fertilizer initiatives. Corruption, debt, the collapse of key industry tourism due to COVID and terrorists attacks and probably the costs it accumulated to crush the Tamil rebellion...
ReplyDeletehttps://www.livemint.com/news/world/why-sri-lanka-s-economy-collapsed-and-what-s-next-explained-11657434358146.html
I grant the ban of fertilizer imports is a problem but its kinda one among many but It looks like more the affect of poor policy management. Compare it was a very good thing to get TEL in gas removed in the US but it would have been ridiculously bad policy to simply say tomorrow we are banning it... So rather than say looking to blame environmental policy maybe the thing is its bad having your country run by a pair of corrupt brothers for so long.
These are after the same pair who did the really bad with China on the Port.
Hopefully Indian itself will do its own Monroe Doctrine and prevent that from happening. Either way another nation in distress and China comes to collect on its loan like a giant Loan shark. The US could use its ever expanding never stop printing of money with ridiculous tossing around of $ to help, I mean it beats spending billions on BS projects at home that help special interest groups, anything to avoid making a sensical Defense budget that actually matches troop/weapon levels/production to an actual set of real threats, rather than a Powerpoint based on here's a budget, that's all you get. Nice article again, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteKath is correct. Just like South Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, etc, the goal of their governments was simply SELF-ENRICHMENT and they just stole TOO MUCH MONEY for anything to be done. Once the populace realized this, they kicked them out. The crooked governments were aided and abetted in this by the IMF which insured that and aid money was EASY TO STEAL and that none of the IMF-funded projects resulted in any useful infrastructure or anything that might aid national self-sufficiency. This insured that the country could NEVER pay the IMF back and the countries will always be in-debt to the IMF. (Sri Lanka's massive debt is to the IMF, not China)..
ReplyDeleteLet's put China, USN, and Sri Lanka in a $geopolitical$ context,
ReplyDeleteThe Hambantota Port cost Chinese $2B to build.
First ship of Columbia Class sub will cost $8+B to build
Now the question: if USN spares one Columbia and use that money to buy-off Sri Lanka (say, make it an US proxy), that'll be 2-4X of what China spent. Is it worth it geopolitically?