Sri Lanka sits near important shipping lines through which much of Asia's energy supplies pass on their way to the Malacca Strait. Google Maps
Business Insider: The US and Japan are competing with China, and they've all got a small island country in their sights
* India, Japan, and the US have taken notice of growing Chinese influence in the Indo-Pacific region and are looking to counter it.
* Sri Lanka, an island country strategically located near major shipping lines, has become a focus of that effort.
* China has major interests in ports there, and the US and Japan have expanded their security cooperation.
China's growing presence in the Pacific and Indian oceans has its neighbors on guard, and their competition for influence has kept Sri Lanka's capital and port city of Colombo busy this month.
On October 1, a day after Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter carrier Kaga, the country's largest warship, and destroyer Inazuma sailed into Colombo, the ships' commanding officers and the commander of Japan's escort flotilla four, Rear Admiral Tatsuya Fukuda, met with the head of the Sri Lankan navy, sharing "views on matters of bilateral importance."
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WNU Editor: China's ties with the Sri Lankan government are deep. From funding their war against the Tamils (which I predicted in 2009 would be bring dividends to China) .... Is China Funding Sri Lanka's War Against The Tamils? (May 2, 2009), to owing China billions for economic aid and development .... This Is How China Got A Port It Could Use In Sri Lanka (June 28, 2019).
