THE POLITICAL MALAISE

Janaka Perera highlights the urgent need to develop an apolitical strategy

Sri Lanka had no foreign policy worth talking about at the time it gained independence. It was simply following the British policy line – except when the government signed the Rubber-Rice Pact of 1952 out of sheer necessity.

Yet, the country sent diplomatic missions even to ancient Rome in 52 AD, and had ties with kingdoms in the Indian subcontinent, as well as with China, Myanmar and others.

Although we recognised the importance of international cooperation at the Bandung Conference in 1955, former prime minister Sir John Kotelawala championed the Western cause by talking about a virtually nonexistent Chinese imperialism and drew ridicule from leftist parties in Sri Lanka.

That same year, when the Soviet Union requested visas for a team of scientists to observe the solar eclipse, the government refused to grant permission for the mission.

It was only in 1956 when S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike’s political party assumed power that Sri Lanka established diplomatic ties with the Soviet Union and other communist nations.

However, the question today is whether that type of nonalignment is still viable as we are no longer living in a rigidly bipolar world. Pursuing a balanced foreign policy is far more complex now than it was during the Cold War.

This doesn’t mean that we should discard the nonaligned policy of the Cold War era. Nevertheless, it’s necessary to study whether those same principles are still in our national interest in the current multipolar world. Mutual respect between countries for their territorial integrity and noninterference in their domestic affairs are important principles.

Since our national interest is the priority, Sri Lanka should strengthen its economic and military ties with other countries. And it must maintain a delicate balance while doing so especially with rival powers such as India and China.

These two countries have exerted pressure on us for many centuries. Neither anticommunist nor anti-Western rhetoric like what was heard from the 1950s to the ’70s is necessary; instead, Sri Lanka must adopt a pragmatic approach to current global realities.

If we are to learn from the past, former communist Yugoslavia didn’t antagonise the West and maintained a neutral stance as a member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) without being subservient to the Soviet Bloc. Vietnam, which fought a 15 year war with the US, maintains good trade and investment ties with America today.

Therefore, Sri Lanka needs to formulate a new nonaligned policy in this multipolar world where rival major powers are competing with each other. Being situated in a strategic location, we have to be careful not to become victims of an international conflict – armed or otherwise – now that we’re a sovereign nation.

During World War II, Sri Lanka became the home base for the British Far East Fleet when Singapore fell to the Japanese. The island was also the headquarters of the South East Asia Command (SEAC) under Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten.

Now that we are a sovereign nation, Sri Lanka needs skilled professionals to achieve our foreign policy objectives. The late Srilankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar was one of the best foreign ministers the country has had because he was able to gain the trust and respect of both the government and opposition.

We also need to resolve our issues with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), which have caused difficulties in our foreign relations in the aftermath of the civil war. This is partly due to the inability of successive regimes to win a stable peace despite our military victory.

Our foreign policy may vary depending on the extent to which a foreign government will respond to our needs. There were several instances where our country mishandled its relations with India, China and Japan.

The tension sparked by Indian fishermen – especially bottom trawling poaching in our territorial waters – is a case in point. Sri Lankan fishermen in the north have been vehemently protesting against this situation. Previously, Indian fishermen had been protesting against the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) for firing at and arresting them.

This is an issue that our government should handle very carefully.

Sri Lanka has wisely focussed on increasing trade with other nations and investments are no doubt welcome regardless of the country’s politics. And experts need to determine the benefits to us in the long run. However, leasing our country’s property for extended periods is a matter we must be wary of, and transparency about the terms and conditions is critical.

It doesn’t matter if our envoys are political appointees or not as long they’re knowledgeable on the subjects concerned. Unfortunately, successive governments have overlooked these requirements for political reasons and ignored what’s in the national interest.

We have to be sensitive to the objectives of other nations, particularly the superpowers with whom we engage.