ABSTRACT
The 21st-century foreign policy of Sri Lanka was forged in the country's war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam during the first decade of this century. As Sri Lanka sought weapons for her national security and loans for economic development, Colombo cultivated an over-dependency on China. Over the past 15 years, China has built an impressive array of infrastructure projects and emerged as Sri Lanka's main development partner. Today, as a great power competition is unfolding in its immediate neighbourhood, Sri Lanka that sits astride to major sea lanes of communication faces the risk of getting entrapped in it. Both parties to the conflict vie for influence in the island nation. But, given its outsized economic presence and resultant influence, Beijing occupies a privileged position vis-à-vis other major powers. The primary foreign policy challenge of the new government in Sri Lanka would be to manage its China relationship in a way that Colombo would not get entangled in the great power rivalry.
