The Sri Lanka Navy is slated to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Nuclear Security Administration of the United States regarding the prevention of illegal transportation of nuclear and other radioactive materials.

The proposal presented by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, in his capacity as the Minister of Defence, to sign the relevant MoU was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting held on 01 January.

Accordingly the draft of the MoU has already received clearance from the Attorney General, while the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Regulatory Council, the Sri Lanka Atomic Energy Board, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Planning have also reviewed the draft.

Beginning January 1, the island nation of Sri Lanka, sitting on the tip of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), has put a year-long moratorium on foreign research vessels from operating in its waters.

The moratorium is seen as a big diplomatic and strategic victory for India that has raised alarm over the Chinese research vessels surveying the vast swathes of the IOR under the pretext of conducting scientific tests.

The data gathered through these tests is invaluable for the Chinese submarines seeking to navigate the shallow waters of Malacca Strait and through the East IOR, causing much consternation to India.

China has put Sri Lanka under its thumb after it acquired the lease of Hambantota port, which the Chinese companies built. Sri Lanka gave Beijing a port right under India’s nose after the island nation failed to pay the Chinese firms.

The decision has come in the wake of China seeking permission to berth yet another research vessel in Sri Lanka’s waters in January 2024. China wanted to dock its marine scientific research (MSR) vessel, the Xiang Yang Hong 3, in Sri Lankan ports by early 2024.

The move follows Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging President Ranil Wickremesinghe to respect Indian security concerns during their meeting in 2023.

Announcing the decision, Sri Lankan foreign minister Ali Sabry told the Daily Mirror that the government’s moratorium on research vessels from foreign countries will start from January onwards. “That is for us to do some capacity development so that we can participate in such research activities as equal partners,” he told the Lankan news outlet.

The Sri Lankan government also enters the election year in 2024 and doesn’t want to add to its geo-political woes by antagonizing its nearest neighbor.

The latest in the series of Chinese Oceanographic survey vessels coming into the region for a three-month-long mission is Shi Yan 6, which came to dock in the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka right under India’s nose in 2023.

Besides the ostensible scientific goals, these surveys produce data on seabed conditions that serve both civilian and military purposes. While seismic data is critical in assessing geological conditions, the presence of hydrocarbons, water, and seabed conditions also affect the ability to detect submarines. Research vessels involved in scientific research can also use their instruments for naval reconnaissance, gathering intelligence on foreign military facilities and vessels operating in the vicinity.

The increasing presence of Chinese vessels in the IOR is keenly observed by India. Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on September 28, 2023, that in the past 20-25 years, there has been a steady increase in the Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean.

“But there’s been a very sharp increase in the size of the Chinese Navy. So, when you have a very much bigger navy, that Navy is going to be visible in terms of its deployment somewhere,” he said, citing the examples of Chinese port-building in Gwadar in Pakistan and Hambantota in Sri Lanka.

The three Chinese-run ports in South Asia – Chittagong in Bangladesh, Hambantota in Sri Lanka, and Gwadar in Pakistan – are called a “triangle of death” encircling India.

The Chinese, however, call their presence in India’s backyard as benign and Shi Yan 6 is called a “scientific research vessel.” Manned by a crew of 60, it can carry out oceanography, marine geology, and marine ecology experiments.

Experts have told the EurAsian Times that this is dual-purpose data. The survey vessel can get data on seabed mapping, recording hydrological data to understand the profile of the undersea environment, subsea cable intelligence gathering, recording telemetry data of missile firings, and so on.

Past Survey Missions By Chinese Vessels

Last year, Yuan Wang 5, one of China’s latest generation space-tracking ships – used to monitor satellite, rocket, and intercontinental ballistic missile launches, docked at Sri Lanka’s southernmost port at Hambantota. The Pentagon has maintained that Yuan Wang ships are operated by the Strategic Support Force of the People’s Liberation Army.

Chinese survey vessels have become common in India’s sphere of influence. Reports indicate that the Chinese have been particularly interested in the Ninetyeast Ridge, a mid-ocean ridge on the Indian Ocean floor. The ridge divides the Indian Ocean into the West and East Indian Ocean.

Naval experts have contended that this range is important for submarine operations. The data will aid Chinese submarines in increasing their activity in the Indian Ocean.

In August 2019, a Chinese survey vessel ‘Shi Yan 1’ came 460 km east of the Indian island Port Blair in the Bay of Bengal and was forced to move out by the Indian Navy’s warships.

In December 2019, another of its survey vessels, Xiang Yang Hong 06, reportedly deployed at least 12 underwater gliders in the Indian Ocean. These long-endurance unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) traveled around 12,000 km at a depth of 6.5 km from the ocean surface to gather data on currents and water properties.

Experts also suggest that the Chinese survey activities near Indonesia and the Indian archipelago Andaman and Nicobar Islands aim to find the US Navy’s ‘fish-hook’ sensor networks. The network is designed to raise alarm when a Chinese submarine enters the Indian Ocean.

This area is near critical Indian Ocean chokepoints like the straits of Sunda and Lombok, used by Chinese sub-surface warships to enter the Indian Ocean. Its shallow waters make the submarines prone to detection; hence, the need to know the region as the back of one’s hands.

Eurasiantimes

Sinopec offered consumers a Rs. 3 price concession for Petrol 92 and Auto Diesel, following the price revision introduced by CEYPETCO today.

Sinopec Energy Lanka announced its revised fuel prices, with 92 Octane Petrol and Lanka Auto Diesel offered at Rs.3 less than CEYPETCO and LIOC.

Accordingly, the price of a litre of Petrol 92 has been increased by Rs. 17, bringing the new price to Rs. 363.

The price of a litre of Lanka Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 26, with the new price set at Rs. 355.

As South Indian film star turned politician Vijayakanth was laid to rest with full State honours on Friday in Chennai, pocket memorial gatherings were conducted in many parts of the Northern and Eastern provinces by his fans in Sri Lanka.

The film personality was known as “Black M.G.R” equating him with another film star turned successful politician–M.G. Ramachandran–for his generosity and his charity work in the State, particularly for Tamil refugees who fled to India during the war period.

Vijayakanth, who had been ill in recent years, passed away on Thursday after battling pneumonia. For three decades, he was a successful film star in the South Indian film industry. Later, he founded a political party in 2005 and emerged as the Opposition Leader at the Tamil Nadu State Assembly.

Banners and notices were distributed by his fans and locals at the pocket mourning meetings in rural areas of Sri Lanka’s North and East to remember him and his service during the difficult times.

Speaking at one event in Jaffna near the statue of M.G.R., one individual recalled how Vijayakanth’s office was always open and supportive of refugees going from Sri Lanka. He said his office fed thousands
of individuals every day when they came from far away places to see him.

SL, Sri Lanka

For decades, veteran vegetable farmer Selvaskantharajah Thusyanthan cultivated potatoes and red onions throughout the year, depending on the monsoons, in his small plot of fertile land in Punnalaikkadduvan North, Jaffna.

But he could not go ahead as planned this time due to the unavailability of seed potatoes. Yet, he is among the 300 beneficiaries of a joint initiative called the Agriculture Modernisation Project (ASMP), supported by the World Bank and the European Union, with the Ministry of Agriculture as an implementing partner to support smallholder farmers.

Farmers alleged that a massive consignment of 20 metric tonnes (MT) of imported seed potatoes turned out to be infected with harmful bacteria due to poor storage facilities in the region and import irregularities.

Imported seed potatoes being stored in Kuppilan Jaffna. They were found to be infected with fungi.

“For this season, we prepared our lands as usual for potato cultivation ahead of the monsoon despite many financial difficulties,” Mr. Thusyanthan, who also heads the Potato Farmers Union in Jaffna, told the Sunday Times. “But when we went to the store to collect seed potatoes, most of them were rotten and not in good condition. Now our lands are empty since it is too late.”

The whole consignment is now due to be disposed of in the coming days after pathological studies found it to be contaminated with harmful bacteria.

Most Northern vegetable farmers cultivate short-term crops such as potatoes, chili and red onion throughout the year, targeting harvest in early January after the North-East monsoon. “The Government should provide us relief to cover our expenses in preparing the land since unpredictable weather also made things very difficult for us,” Mr. Thusyanthan said.

Farmers alleged that an imported consignment of potatoes was brought to a store in Kupillan, Jaffna, on November 17 and was quarantined. Unlike in the past, where consignments were packaged in cardboard boxes, these were in jute bags. When they visited again on December 12, most of the potatoes had become rotten and a bad odour was emanating.

After initial laboratory investigations, the certificate issued by the National Plant Quarantine Service on November 22 indicated the presence of Geotrichum spp, a fungus found commonly in potato-cultivating soil.

“Geotrichum spp. were detected on culture plates; therefore, the importer must be strongly advised that additional care should be taken when storing the seed potatoes,” said the quarantine certificate, seen by the Sunday Times.

The cargo containers weighing 14.75 MT and 5.85 MT were imported by an Australia-based company named Campo Agriculture Holdings. The consignment was submitted for quarantine on November 15.

After the farmers informed officials of the status of the consignment, an inspection team led by the assistant director of agriculture (research) of the plant pathology division in Kilinochchi visited the facility on December 12. The team found that about 40% of the tubers had severely rotted and decayed.

Initial laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of fungal (Geotrichum spp) and bacterial (Pectobacterium carotovorum) infections, according to the report by the team.

A substantial level of infection has been attributed to unfavourable storage conditions for nearly three weeks in a poorly ventilated environment with elevated internal temperatures, the report said, adding this was likely to have created a microenvironment conducive to pathogen proliferation.

“These conditions contradicted the appropriate storage requirements recommended for the storage of seed potatoes by the Department of Agriculture, especially for Red Lasoda potatoes which exhibit heightened susceptibility to Geotrichum spp fungal infections under elevated temperatures,” the report noted.

ASMP Deputy Director Anura Wijetunga, who visited the store earlier this week, said the main reason for the poor quality of seed potatoes was the unpredicted weather patterns the region had witnessed in recent weeks with heavy rains across the province.

The decision to dispose of the consignment, he said, was taken based on the reports submitted by the teams, which recommended immediate disposal to prevent environmental contamination.

On Thursday, at the District Coordination Committee meeting co-chaired by Northern Province Governor P.S.M. Charles a decision was taken to call for quarantine certificates by the National Plant Quarantine Service of the Department of Agriculture on the consignment.

A committee was also appointed by the DCC to look into whether there were any violations of quarantine regulations or irregularities in the procurement of the 20 MT shipment for Northern farmers.

Also on Thursday, the Agriculture Department gave a report on the condition of the seed potato consignments to Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, who instructed officials to investigate inadequate facilities and the loss incurred by the Government in the importation, maintenance and disposal of the consignment.

Farmer Thusyanthan said many farmers were already struggling to cope with mortgages and loans which they took to cover expenses in this crisis. “Even the climate was not helpful to us and makes engaging in farming more difficult now.”

The Sunday Times, SL

An election boycotted by the main opposition as the world’s longest serving female prime minister looks set to extend her rule.

A cricket legend and former prime minister languishing in prison versus a one-time fugitive looking to make a comeback as a powerful military keeps watch.

A populist leader hoping to enter his second decade in power as he pushes a popular but religiously divisive brand of politics.

And an island nation recovering from its worst economic crisis in decades after protesters stormed the presidential palace.

Four South Asian countries are expected to head to the polls next year, in a grand test for democracy that will see nearly 2 billion people across Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka cast their ballots from January through September.

All former colonies who gained independence from Britain within the last century, each are at a different stage of growth and facing a variety of crises and opportunities.

Here’s what you need to know about democracy’s greatest show.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh, a country of some 170 million people, is the first to cast votes on January 7.

The once multiparty democracy is being threatened as its ruling Awami League party continues what rights groups say is a campaign to silence dissent, pushing the republic toward something more closely resembling a one-party state.

Sheikh Hasina, current Prime Minister and chair of the Awami Party, is likely to be reelected as the country’s leader for a fourth consecutive term.

Hasina has been in power since 2009 and won the last election in December 2019, in a poll marred in deadly violence and accusations of poll rigging.

Missing then was her primary opponent Khaleda Zia, a former prime minister and chief of the main opposition, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who was jailed the year before on corruption charges.

For much of the past three decades, politics in Bangladesh has been defined by a bitter rivalry between the two women, who both saw their politician father and husband respectively assassinated in office. Political turmoil has followed into the second generation.

Zia, 78, now lives under house arrest and her BNP continues to face mounting challenges by Hasina and her ruling dispensation with the mass arrest of its politicians.

The situation has led to protests, and the BNP has decided to boycott the election again, paving the way for Hasina once more.

“The government is claiming to commit to free and fair elections with diplomatic partners while the state authorities are simultaneously filling prisons with the ruling Awami League’s political opponents,” said Julia Bleckner, senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a November statement.

“A free election is impossible when the government stifles free expression and systematically incapacitates the opposition, critics, and activists through arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearance, harassment, and intimidation,” Bleckner added.

Yet, the country – which is aspiring to become a middle-income country by 2031 – is experiencing an era of economic growth. Much of this is because of the garment manufacturing industry, which accounts for 35.1% of Bangladesh’s annual gross domestic product, according to the US Commerce Department.

“Since it’s come into being, Bangladesh has always had political instability, but they’ve managed to have very good growth rate” said Sreeradha Dutta, professor of international affairs at OP Jindal Global University and author of “Bangladesh on a New Journey – Moving Beyond Regional Identity.”

She added also that the country is building strong relations with key neighbors in the region.

“So irrespective whoever the leader is, the same developmental models will be picked up… because Bangladesh aspires to be something much larger than what it currently is.”

Pakistan

Ruled for much of its 76 years by political dynasties or military establishments, no democratically elected leader has ever completed a full five-year term since Pakistan won independence.

In recent years the country of 230 million has seen the all-too-familiar mix of political instability and militant attacks percolate alongside a particularly acute economic crisis that has been brutal on both middle and lower income families.

Imran Khan, the country’s former prime minister and arguably the most popular figurehead, is languishing behind bars, charged with fraud and facing charges for revealing state secrets – leaving him unable to contest in the upcoming polls in February.

Khan, who was ousted from power in a parliamentary no-confidence vote last year, says the charges against him are politically motivated and framed to stop him from standing in the election, an allegation authorities deny.

TV stations are banned from running Khan’s speeches, and many of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party colleagues have been arrested.

In October, Nawaz Sharif, the fugitive former prime minister of Pakistan, returned to the South Asian nation after nearly four years in self-exile, skirting arrest and stirring up the country’s already fraught political scene and leaving many to believe he is bidding for the top seat once again.

The country, meanwhile, faces mounting challenges – from economic uncertainty and frequent militant attacks to climate catastrophes that are putting millions at risk – setting the stage for a difficult road to recovery for its new leadership.

“Political and economic uncertainty go hand in hand,” said Fahd Humayun, assistant professor of political science & Neubauer faculty fellow at the department of political science at Tufts University.

“And any government coming to power through suspicious elections is not only likely to be on a weak footing and reliant on the military for its political survival but will also be unlikely to attract the capital inflows so badly needed.”

India

Often called the world’s largest experiment in democracy, India is expected to head to the polls in the spring, in a mammoth election that is likely to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi secure a rare third term in power.

The populist leader of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has tightened his grip on India’s democratic institutions in way not seen since 1970s, when Indira Gandhi ruled the country with an iron fist, pushing it toward autocracy.

But on the world stage, India has arguably never been more significant.

Modi, whose calendar this year included diplomatic trips to Australia and the United States, is presenting himself as a statesman who is cementing the country as a modern superpower. And 2023 has been a remarkable year for India’s 1.4 billion people.

This year was the moment it overtook China to become the world’s most-populous nation, while the year before it surpassed its former colonial ruler Britain to become the world’s fifth-largest economy.

In August, India made history by soft landing a rover on the moon, becoming just the fourth nation in the world to have completed such a feat – and it launched its first spacecraft dedicated to studying the sun weeks after.

The country hosted the Group of 20 (G20) in September, presenting New Delhi with an opportunity to extend its leadership beyond the country’s borders at a time of increasing political turmoil.

Yet, since his first election nearly a decade ago, critics also say the once secular and democratic founding ethos of the world’s largest democracy is crumbling at alarming speed, with minorities feeling persecuted under the BJP’s majoritarian policies and any criticism of the government facing censorship and harsh punishment.

Squaring off against Modi is a newly formed alliance of 26 political parties known as INDIA, which includes the country’s main opposition, the Indian National Congress.

But in its most recent gauge of voter sentiment, the Congress party lost three out of four regional votes in key state elections in December, giving a boost to Modi and his BJP.

As the election draws close, analysts say Indian politics remains unpredictable, and much can change as the parties gear up to campaign in the months ahead.

“People are hoping there will be a challenge to Modi, that the opposition parties can get their act together. That dream that seemed possible even three months ago now looks more difficult,” said C. Raja Mohan, senior fellow at Asia Society Policy Institute, during a recent talk with the Asia Society.

“But even six months is a long time in politics.”

Sri Lanka

Nearly two years ago, Sri Lanka’s then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was forced to flee his country after angry protesters stormed his residence in anger, blaming him for the country’s worst economic crisis in 73 years.

It was a remarkable moment for a protest movement that thrust the bankrupt nation of 22 million into the global spotlight after inflation soared and foreign reserves dwindled, leaving millions unable to afford food, fuel and medicines.

Rajapaksa resigned from his post, paving the way for current President Ranil Wickremesinghe to take over.

In elections expected before September, Wickremesinghe is likely to stand for a second term, months after he helped secure a much-needed loan from the International Monetary Fund and made sweeping reforms to the budget to ensure financial growth.

Sri Lanka hasn’t had a general election since 2018, and Wickremesinghe has repeatedly delayed the polls due to the economic crisis.

As the economy – and the country’s people – recover, a date for the election is yet to be announced and it remains to be seen whether 2024 will be the year the country’s people decide on its future leader.

CNN

In what could be seen as a bid to woo Tamil voters ahead of the 2024 LS elections, BJP national president JP Nadda on Saturday released a stamp commemorating 200 years of Indian-origin Tamils living in Sri Lanka now.

Nadda, speaking at the BJP central office-based function, said, “This is truly a historic occasion when we remember the extreme hardships endured by the people belonging to the Madras Presidency who were taken to erstwhile Ceylon by the British and their long struggle to gain dignity and recognition.”

Nadda, reiterating the Modi government’s commitment, further said that the government as well as the BJP is deeply committed to the welfare and prosperity of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka.

“We have been working relentlessly to provide them with housing, healthcare, and other basic necessities, ensuring their ease of living,” he said, adding that Narendra Modi visited Jaffna in Sri Lanka after becoming Prime Minister in 2014 and promised pucca houses for Indian-origin Tamils.

“That’s when our people got the opportunity to live a life with dignity in Sri Lanka,” he said, adding that the PM during his visit to Jaffna in 2017 promised 14,000 pucca houses for India-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka and fulfilled it to a great extent.

Quoting various references, Nadda said that the Britishers made them (Tamils in Sri Lanka now) migrate to Sri Lanka after they started economic activities there and wanted them to work in many fields. Nadda assured that the BJP-led government under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi is truly concerned with the welfare of Tamils in Sri Lanka and acknowledges their contributions made in infrastructural development in Sri Lanka.

Present at the function, Senthil Thondaman, governor of Eastern Province (Sri Lanka), as a special guest, also lauded PM’s concerns shown for Tamils in Sri Lanka “I thank PM Modi for his support in rebuilding Sri Lanka during an economic crisis and taking care of Indian-origin Tamils. The Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka are the third-largest ethnic group,” Nadda said.

The stamp was released with the aim of recognizing the contributions of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka in promoting the plantation industry, basically on the island of Sri Lanka. According to a conservative estimate, the majority of Indian-origin Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, speaking Tamil as their native language.

The stamp was released with the aim of recognizing the contributions of Indian-origin Tamils in Sri Lanka in promoting the plantation industry, basically on the island of Sri Lanka According to a conservative estimate, the majority of Indian-origin Tamils live in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka, speaking Tamil as their native language.

The New Indian Express