With one eye on China, Japan backs Sri Lanka as a partner in the Indo-Pacific

By KRISHAN FRANCIS
Associated Press

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Japan’s Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says that Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it a key partner in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific. The minister is in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, where he met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe and his counterpart Ali Sabry. The Japanese-led initiative aims at building security and economic cooperation but is also geared toward curbing an increasingly assertive China. It includes Japan’s assistance to emerging economies, support for maritime security, the provision of coast guard patrol boats and equipment, and other infrastructure cooperation. Last year, Sri Lanka defaulted on its public debt of about $51 billion – much of it owed to China.