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POMPEO ATTACKS CHINA AGAIN, CALLS IT ‘PREDATOR’ IN SRI LANKA

After meeting with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Mike Pompeo accuses Beijing of violating sovereignty on land and at sea; Colombo walks a diplomatic tightrope, saying it is a ‘neutral, non-aligned country’.

In what augurs well for the Indian diplomatic mission to garner world support against China, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has again hit out at the Dragon. After lambasting it from India’s soil on Tuesday, Pompeo has come heavily down on China from Sri Lanka. He called China’s communist government a “predator” on Wednesday during a trip to boost ties with Sri Lanka.

Sources told The Daily Guardian that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar during his bilateral meeting with Pompeo on Tuesday in New Delhi suggested to him how a stern message of the US to Beijing from the island nation, too, will serve the purpose of countering the Dragon in real sense of the term. “Pompeo’s rebuke to China has actually sent out a message that all the nations of the continent including Sri Lanka are fed up with Beijing,” says an official.

Pompeo visited Sri Lanka on Wednesday, a day after completing the 2+2 ministerial dialogue between India and the US. He met Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.  

MEA sources believe that Pompeo’s visit to Colombo and then his scathing attack on China will help in reducing the Dragon’s influence not only in that country but also in the entire region. After India’s diplomatic lobbying, the US has taken a strong note of Beijing trying to tighten grip over entire South Asian countries, spelling trouble for New Delhi in various fields.

“A strong, sovereign Sri Lanka is a powerful and strategic partner for the United States on the world stage. It can be a beacon for a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pompeo said at a joint press conference with his counterpart, Gunawardena. This was another much-needed strong message for the Dragon, says an official.

“Look, that’s quite a contrast to what China seeks. We see from bad deals, violations of sovereignty and lawlessness on land and sea that the Chinese Communist Party is a predator, and the United States comes in a different way. We come as a friend and as a partner,” the top member of the Donald Trump cabinet said. “We want the people of Sri Lanka to have sovereignty and independence. We want them to be successful. We want sustainable development for them,” he insisted.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, however, appeared unwilling to get into the anti-China mode. Walking a tight diplomatic rope, he insisted that Sri Lanka wanted peace and good relations with all. “Sri Lanka is a neutral, non-aligned country, committed to peace,” Gunawardena said, adding: “We hope to continue with our relations with the United States and other countries.” zPresident Rajapaksa’s office too released a statement on Wednesday rejecting the accusation that China was attempting to trap the country into debt.

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