The Dragon's long shadow on Sri Lanka (Opinion)

New Delhi, Jan 2 For some South Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh, the 'China Nightmare' is no longer just a bad dream. It is a living reality, which continues to threaten the countries' national interests, and eat away at their very sovereignty.

Sri Lanka's fall into the dragon's trap was triggered when China, taking advantage of the souring relations between Colombo and the Washington, started its aggressive courting of the Mahenda Rajapaksa government from the time he assumed office in 2005.

By 2007, the war against the LTTE was raging, and the island nation was facing increasing international criticism over human rights issues.

The US significantly reduced its foreign assistance package, and neighbour India's assistance was constrained by the Tamil sentiments back home.

The dragon, which was closely watching, swooped in with a $37 million deal for Chinese ammunition and ordnance.

This was followed in 2008 by the gift of six F7 fighters, JY-11 radar and anti-aircraft guns. By the time the war with the LTTE ended in 2009, relations with China were upgraded to a 'strategic cooperative partnership'.

However, the deadliest move made by China in its strategic game was made in 2007 itself, when it got Rajapaksa to lease land at Hambantota for construction of a port at a cost of $1 billion.

By 2014, Chinese aid and loans to Sri Lanka had exceeded a staggering $6 billion, which included the Colombo Port City Project

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