Tightrope Balancing in a Time of Rising Great Power Competition: An Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Relations with India and China
Tightrope Balancing in a Time of Rising Great Power Competition: An Assessment of Sri Lanka’s Relations with India and China
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El resurgimiento económico de China augura la posibilidad de una recalibración en el equilibrio de poder global. Muchos sostienen que este proceso ya está en marcha en el este de Asia, específicamente en relación con el mar de China Meridional. En otras partes del mundo, la creciente huella de China se puede observar a través de proyectos de infraestructura, bajo la iniciativa de la franja y la ruta de Beijing. ¿Aprovecha China su poder económico para satisfacer sus intereses al obligar a las naciones más pequeñas a aceptar condiciones y acuerdos que no son de su interés? Este artículo examina si la evidencia es visible a través de un estudio de caso de Sri Lanka. La ubicación geográfica de la isla, justo sobre las vías de comunicación marítimas del océano Índico, continúa atrayendo la atención de los poderes regionales y extrarregionales. Las limitaciones de tamaño de Sri Lanka y el bajo ritmo de desarrollo económico también otorgan un margen de maniobra a India (la hegemonía regional) y China para utilizar los lazos bilaterales para sus intereses. ¿Hay evidencia que sugiera que China ha utilizado la infraestructura portuaria para satisfacer sus intereses nacionales a expensas de Sri Lanka? ¿O Sri Lanka ha logrado trazar una fina línea entre las dos potencias asiáticas: el vecino hegemón, India, y la gran potencia emergente, China? ¿La verdad se encuentra en algún punto intermedio? Este artículo profundiza en estas preguntas al examinar los enfoques y las posturas que Sri Lanka ha adoptado hacia ambas naciones, particularmente durante el gobierno del presidente Gotabaya Rajapakse desde 2019 hasta fines de 2021. Al hacerlo, pretende dar luces sobre cómo Sri Lanka ha manejado los lazos bilaterales con ambas potencias asiáticas, así como el grado de competencia sino-india visible dentro de la infraestructura portuaria de la isla. Concluye que las decisiones tomadas con respecto a los proyectos de infraestructura portuaria representan un panorama mixto. Un hallazgo clave es la capacidad de los grupos de interés nacionales para dar forma a la política exterior de Sri Lanka durante este periodo, lo que ha afectado significativamente los lazos de la isla con otros aliados regionales como Japón.
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