As Sri Lanka continues to follow guidelines set out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and move towards a recovery, sustaining the progress will be a key challenge as normalcy returns. Sri Lanka is by no means out of the woods, and must follow through with meaningful governance and economic reforms, to ensure that Sri Lanka returns to a growth trajectory.
As the island nation moves forward with such changes, many of which will be difficult and painful, Sri Lanka must also fine tune its foreign policy to better navigate the dynamic geopolitical winds that sweep our region; the Indian Ocean, and that also affect Sri Lanka’s links beyond. To do so, Sri Lanka needs a change in policy-making culture to incorporate strategic thinking.
Since the end of the internal conflict, failures of Governments to assess the strategic environment Sri Lanka found itself in, was unable to articulate its national interest and security concerns effectively in the international arena. While Sri Lanka has always maintained its policy stance of ‘neutrality’, the actions of successive governments post internal-conflict, clouded that approach and left many observers questioning if Sri Lanka was recalibrating its policy, or moving towards the orbit specific countries, or blocs. As such, experts have argued that Sri Lankan policymakers and bureaucrats need to better understand strategic thinking to formulate more effective and coherent policies, which Sri Lanka will need to sustain the economic recovery and navigate the growing contentions of the Indian Ocean Region. A veteran diplomat and former Foreign Secretary, who The Daily Morning spoke to, pointed out that Sri Lanka needed to be predictable in its actions and consistent in its policies to navigate out of the economic crisis it has walked into. He stressed the need for general consensus among policymakers to formulate a robust foreign policy framework for the short to medium term.
Recently, Sri Lanka's Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry, reiterated the Island's commitment to maintaining an independent foreign policy and avoiding alignment with any global power blocs. Speaking at a forum in Singapore, Sabry stressed Sri Lanka's strategic autonomy and its goal to remain open for business while avoiding geopolitical conflicts. "We have always been clear that we are not interested in being an ally of any of these camps. We will be an independent country and work with everyone, but there are conditions. Our land and sea will not be used to threaten anyone else's security concerns. We will not allow military bases to be built here. We will not be a pawn in their game. We do not want geopolitical games playing out in our neighbourhood, and affecting us. We are very interested in de-escalating tensions. What we could do is have strategic autonomy, negotiate with everyone as sovereign equals, and strategically use competition to our advantage," the Foreign Minister stressed.
Sri Lanka is well to study how other small states have managed their foreign policy and maintained their stances of ‘neutrality’. One such country that Sri Lanka may be able to take a page from is Vietnam. In the recent past, Vietnam to its credit has managed to host the leaders of China, the US, and Russia, in a short period, navigating an increasingly polarised world with strategic discretion. Vietnam has quietly managed to do what many others have failed at; cleverly circumnavigated one of the biggest challenges in diplomacy today: the need to choose sides. Not only did the visits by the global leaders happen in succession, they translated to improving Vietnam's strategic ties and deepening of economic cooperation. With diplomacy often being a zero-sum game in this day and age, what Vietnam achieved is a notable feat. It is also a sign of a well-evolved and robust foreign policy, which also promotes Vietnam’s ‘neutrality’ policy. The leaders of Vietnam have reached this success by establishing goals of maintaining stability and focusing on delivering strong economic growth as the cornerstone of all national policies.
Sri Lanka policymakers, and the bureaucracy ought to take note of Vietnam’s ‘bamboo diplomacy’ policy. An approach to neutrality, where being adaptable to changing circumstances while maintaining a firm commitment to the national interest, and peace is championed.