Straddling the Major Power Rivalry in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR): Sri Lanka's Quest to Navigate in an Increasingly 'Zero-Sum' Environment (original) (raw)

The paper discusses the foreign policy challenges confronted by Sri Lanka arising from the major power rivalry in the Indian Ocean Region - focussing on India, China, and the United States of America. Reviewing the associated dynamics and identifying the flashpoints, it argues that the reality facing Sri Lanka, is that in more recent times, even on occasions that Sri Lanka has adopted a strictly non-aligned/neutral approach in its foreign policy, the concerned countries and its alliances have brought pressure on Sri Lanka to operate in a ‘zero-sum’ environment. Drawing on a presentation made at the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS) Regional Conference on ‘Ocean Security: South Asia and the Indian Ocean’ on 16 October 2023, the paper suggests modalities that could help Sri Lanka overcome this predicament of becoming a theatre for confrontation between the major powers.