Es with Delhi
Aching issue persists, Modi Govt. says steps ng taken to divert Tamil Nadu fishermen Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal
a Joint Venture (JV) between Indian Oil and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation. The Lower Tank Farm, consisting of 15 tanks originally and now made into 16, will be leased exclusively to Indian Oil for 50 years, extendable to a maximum of 99.
The Indian side argue that this is, in fact, an advantage to Sri Lanka because the 2003 Agreement signed by the then Prime Minister Ranil WickremesinghePresident Chandrika Kumaratunga Government gave the entire Tank Farm, Upper and Lower, to Indian Oil on lease. The Sri Lankan side pointed out that the 2003 Agreement was necessitated, partly, due to the raging separatist insurgency at the time and the fear of the LTTE destroying the oil tanks. Inducting India was meant to ward off such an LTTE threat.
During the conflict years, Sri Lanka’s war insurance premium had skyrocketed and Indian Oil cushioned the impact on oil prices in Sri Lanka. This week, Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne showing some photographs asked if these tanks surrounded by jungle “like the Sinharaja forest” were meant to be worshipped like the Thuparaamaya temple (at Anuradhapura) or meant to earn some revenue.
The Indian negotiators were quick to point out a series of benefits Sri Lanka received by their entering the market, not least that there was never a fuel shortage in Sri Lanka, the numbers employed and improvement in the quality and appearance of fuel sheds around the country. They were earlier “fuel dumps”, one of them said, punning on the word dumps. That they had coughed up nearly Rs 7bn so far since entering the Sri Lankan market and 25 percent of the company has Sri Lankan shareholders was also stressed and that, looking to the future, these storage facilities could even see pipelines being built to service the oil needs of southern India.
The MoU also includes a port, petroleum refinery and other industries in Trincomalee for which both, India and Sri Lanka will set up a Joint Working Group. Premier Wickremesinghe has already announced that Japan will be part of this programme. Times have changed and the world moves on, said a Western diplomat pointing out that during World War II, the Japanese war planes bombarded the Trincomalee area.
In India, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Gopal Baglay was asked at a news conference about the possibility of a tripartite development pact between Japan, India and Sri Lanka. He replied that the Indian Government was focusing on development connectivity and neighbourhoods. “Wherever there is a possibility of cooperation with like-minded countries, with countries that are acceptable to both the parties, I think we are open to considering those possibilities,” he said.
Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, meanwhile, gave a comment to the “Hindu” newspaper about his vision of the IndiaSri Lanka partnership. While the two countries are yet to finalise the locations of the proposed investment zones, the idea is to make Sri Lanka a favourable financial hub for Indian investors, he said. “We want to be to India what Hong Kong is to China,” he added, blissfully unaware that Hong Kong is now a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China--something Sri Lanka clearly doesn’t envision for itself vis a vis India.
Premier Wickremesinghe’s one-day “working visit” was packed with appointments. He met Premier Modi for more than half-an-hour on a oneto-one basis (the discussion as scheduled for just five minutes of courtesies before official talks began) and a working lunch of basmati rice and Indian curries. He then met former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, Transport, Home Affairs and External Affairs Ministers and the National Security Adviser. India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seemed interested in the whereabouts of her counterpart. “Where is Mangala”, she asked, only to be told, “He is travelling all the time”.
In what seemed an otherwise bhai-bhai friendship between the two countries, the sour point was the nagging, continuing issue of poaching in Sri Lankan waters by southern Indian fishermen. The crisis is causing an estimated Rs. Five billion loss annually to Sri Lanka. Premier Modi said on March 13, 2015, addressing Sri Lanka’s Parliament: “The world sees India as the new frontier of economic opportunity. But, our neighbours should have the first claim on India. And I again repeat, the first claim on India is of our neighbours–of Sri Lanka”. And again, “Sri Lanka’s success is of great significance to India”. His “Neighbourhood First Policy’ is based on “Sabka Saath; Sabka Vikas” (Together we progress).
The Sri Lankan Fisheries Ministry, to its credit has kept pressing the poaching issue. Not only are the northern Sri Lankan Tamils being deprived of their livelihood, but the entire maritime resources of the Palk Bay/Gulf of Mannar area is being raped. Mindful of this, the Modi Government seems to move the Tamil Nadu state Government to take action together with the Central Government.
The Indians pointed out that new fishing harbours are being built in Mookaiyur and Poompuhar at a cost of US$ 40 million to divert the Indian fishermen away from the Palk Bay into the Arabian Sea or Bay of Bengal (see map) and orders given on March 3, 2017 for a ban on registration of new trawlers in all the districts around the Palk Bay. A deep sea fishing assistance scheme and a subsidy for purchasing new tuna long liners are also proposed to replace the notorious bottom trawlers that sweep the ocean floor. The plan encourages deep sea fishing.
The Indian side says the number of Indian fishing vessels crossing the IMBL (International Maritime Boundary Line) between India and Sri Lanka has reduced and the Sri Lankan side acknowledged it at the last Joint Working Group Meeting on April 7, but the Sri Lankan Fisheries Ministry said that was because it was the “breeding season” when Indian fishermen voluntarily keep away. Nevertheless, there seems to be action being taken from India on this vexed issue that is a fish-bone of contention between the two countries.
In a fortnight’s time, Premier Modi will visit Colombo and Kandy on what has been described in diplomatic circles as a strictly religious visit to participate in the international Vesak celebrations in Sri Lanka and pay homage to the Buddha. There will be no political activity, nor signing of any bi-lateral agreements, insist Indian Government officials.