Geopolitics and foreign policy

Of late there has been a series of articles and commentaries in the press faulting the Government's foreign policy. The repetition of the same set of arguments over and over again points to a well-orchestrated campaign to discredit the Government.

The principal argument put forward is that Sri Lanka has wittingly or unwittingly fallen prey to the grand designs of the Chinese for hegemony in South Asia to the annoyance of India which is also competing for hegemony. It is also alleged that by allying with countries that are not in the good books of Washington such as Iran, the country has deviated from its non-aligned path. Strangely these quarters that had been till recent times writing off the Non-Aligned Movement as an anachronism have suddenly found its virtues and are castigating the Government for abandoning it.

Foreign policy of a country does not fall from heaven or hang in mid-air. It is grounded in the reality of the country in the specific period under consideration. That means it should be based on the socio-economic, political and cultural ethos of a country. That is why, foreign policy is none other than the extension of a country's domestic policy beyond its boundaries.

Sri Lanka has successfully won a decisive victory over terror. This has placed before the country two strategic goals: One, the consolidation of the victory and two, economic development.

In order to achieve the first goal it is necessary not only to ensure conditions at home that would disallow any attempts to resurrect the dead terror but also to dismantle and disable the large terrorist network that is still functioning on a global scale. Sri Lanka is soliciting the cooperation of her friends abroad, including Western and South East Asian countries in this effort.

Victory over terrorism consolidated the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by negating opportunities for foreign intervention and uniting the country physically and politically. Had the conflict dragged on, it would have certainly given room for external intervention and loss of sovereignty.

What the critics of the Government fail to understand is that by refusing to go along with various proposals emanating from the West as regards the solution of the national question and economic development the Government is defending the sovereignty of the country unlike previous governments which for various reasons succumbed to pressure and acceded to their unjust and demeaning demands.

In achieving these goals, particularly the second one, the Government has to be conscious of the geo-political realities of the times. It is no secret that the world is in the grip of a serious economic crisis in which the West has suffered worse than the emerging nations in the Third World. This makes it imperative to look for economic assistance beyond the traditional Western partners. It is just that the Government has done. India, China, Japan, Russia and Iran have come to the assistance of Sri Lanka when others have been reluctant, hesitating or unable to do so. It is naive to interpret it as abandoning non-alignment.

The geopolitical realities today are much different not only from the cold war era but also from the unipolar. Today the world is developing towards a multi-polar world. A new world order is being born. In the new world order emerging nations of the Third World such as China, India, Brazil and South Africa would be the decision makers. Sri Lanka has consciously taken note of this change. That is what the foreign policy shows. Obviously there is apprehension in the West for they cannot maintain their erstwhile dominance.

As regards the alleged cold war between China and India much is hearsay than fact. Both nations understand that in the emerging world order development depends on political stability. Both these nations have understood this vital factor. That is why Sino-Indian relations have been growing in the recent past despite the occasional rhetoric. To arrive at conclusions from the rhetoric would amount to a failure to see the wood for the trees.

Sri Lanka has been cleverly developing relations with both Asian powers and these relations are unique and not contradictory. Indo-Sri Lankan relations take priority as that of closest neighbours bound by centuries of economy and culture. Sino-Sri Lankan relations have never been at the cost of relations with third countries.

Sri Lanka has long experience of maintaining equally good relations with powers that do not see eye to eye. For example, its relations with both India and Pakistan have developed simultaneously without irritations. There is no reason to fear getting involved in a clash between them.