Sri Lanka

China has lent over $1 trillion to more than 150 countries as part of its Belt and Road Initiative, making it the world’s largest official creditor.

India has already given the necessary assurances to the IMF. Other bilateral creditors, including China, have not yet but Sri Lanka says there’s progress in the ongoing discussions. 

Sri Lanka is nearly bankrupt and has suspended repaying its $51 billion foreign debt, of which it must repay $28 billion by 2027.

Devastating floods have placed a third of the country underwater, underscoring significant climate risks in South Asia.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe said his government will soon start negotiating debt restructuring with countries that provide loans to Sri Lanka.

The Indian and Chinese diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka sparred on social media over the visit of a Chinese military research vessel to the island nation.

Sri Lanka’s refusal to codify trade relations with India speaks to a consistent policy of strategic ambiguity.

Establishing rules of the aid game and channels of communication might prevent a repeat of the current crisis, in Sri Lanka and elsewhere.

If passed into law, the amendments would reinstate democratic reforms made in 2015 and then reversed in 2020 under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe said the government's aim is to create a surplus in the primary budget by the year 2025 and to bring down public debt.

If the northeast Indian Ocean is of strategic interest to Australia, then the current economic and political crisis in Sri Lanka ought to be a pressing concern for Canberra.