Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tamil-dominated Jaffna as "interference" in Sri Lanka's affairs, an official Chinese think tank today said the recent "incidents" in Sino-Lankan ties are sufficient to "merit Beijing's attention."
"PM Modi's trip to Sri Lanka has courted attention from media outlets of many countries including China, with most of them believing New Delhi has gained the upper hand when Colombo halted the China-invested project," Liu Zongyi, assistant researcher of Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said in an article.
"PM Modi included in his Sri Lanka trip the city of Jaffna in the Tamil-majority Northern Province, which in fact shows India's interference in the country's internal affairs," the article published in state-run Global Times said.
"Some of them even attempt to maximise their national interests by taking advantage of the competition among great powers."
It, however, cautioned: "Historical disputes between India and Sri Lanka over Tamil people and fishery resources will make it difficult for the two sides to build a rapport any time soon."
China proposed the 'One Belt and One Road' (also known as Silk Road) project as a strategic initiative to revive its slowing economy.
"India has myriad historical and cultural links with Indian Ocean island nations. New Delhi also has the ambition of playing a leading role in the region," the article said.
"New Delhi doesn't want countries in South Asia and the Indian Ocean to participate in the programme, but it is unable to propose a substitute," it said.
Highlighting China's assistance to Sri Lanka to fight the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the article said, "save for China, no other country was willing to help Colombo then."
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