Why was Mahinda's China tour cancelled?

2016-03-30

Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists who were jubilant over an invitation extended to Mahinda by the Chinese Government boasted about that invitation extended in November last year. Mahinda was scheduled to fly to China last December. However, Parliamentarians close to Mahinda's heart claimed that China would help only if Mahinda came to power. In the midst of this fanfare about the invitation, Chinese Special Envoy Liu Zhemin visited Colombo last October to meet President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

However, Zhemin's meet with Mahinda thus deviating from the normal Chinese protocol caused confusion in political circles. In keeping with Chinese diplomatic practices, usually Chinese envoys call on VVIPs and VIPs in office and not on Members of the Opposition. That was evidently witnessed during Mahinda's regime as none of the visiting diplomats ever called on leaders in the Opposition. Hence, Zhemin's meet with Mahinda may have been viewed with suspicion by the Maithri-Ranil Government.

On completing his visit to Colombo, Zhemin announced that his visit to Colombo was successful noting that he met President Sirisena, Premier Wickremesinghe and Foreign Minister Samaraweera. He exercised caution about announcing that he met Mahinda. It was Mahinda's Media Spokesman who announced that Zhemin met with Mahinda. Rumours also floated that Mahinda had sought a meet with Zhemin upon information that the latter was to visit Colombo. However, Mahinda's December trip to China did not materialize. His loyalists claimed that the visit was postponed. Mahinda who earlier spoke proud of Chinese projects appears to have conveniently left out those topics in his recent speeches. It is in such a backdrop that Mahinda's son Namal made accusations that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe due to visit China had distanced relations with the Colombo Foreign Ministry. Namal also twittered in his account that the government had contracted Public Relations Company to promote Sino-Lanka relations.

Namal's message manifests that Rajapaksas' are doomed by the effort by Maithri-Ranil Government to rebuild and promote relations with China. This message amply demonstrates the Rajapaksas' fear that their grip with China may loosen by the effort of the Maithri-Ranil Government to re-start new relations with China.

Foreign Ministry
There is reason as to why Ranil has distanced relations with the Foreign Ministry. It was because the Foreign Ministry blundered when he assigned to prepare his plans of his visit to India by including the CEPA Agreement to the agenda. The release of that agenda to the media caused much confusion and Ranil directly accused officials at the Foreign Ministry. It could also be presumed that had Ranil involved the Foreign Ministry to his Chinese trip, the pro-Rajapaksa group at that ministry would leak it to the Rajapaksas. Maithri and Ranil are aware of the confusion among the Rajapaksas when they plan to visit China. When J.R.Jayewardene befriended Rajiv Gandhi to sign the Indo-Lanka Accord, Mrs. Sirima Bandaranaike too had similar feeling as Mrs. B was a close friend of India and the Gandhis'. When India was fuelling the terrorist war in Sri Lanka, Mrs. B thought that her friend Indira would pave the way for her to return to power by destabilizing the Jayewardene Government. That was why Mrs. B created a rift between Indira Gandhi and J.R.Jayewardene. Mrs. B claimed that India was helping the terrorist war because JR angered India and said if she was returned to office she would quell the terrorist war with Indian help.

Later, Mrs. B was angry as JR made friends with Rajiv and signed the Indo-Lanka Accord. India uses the good offices in South Asia to implement her agenda even using the Oppositions in those countries. But China adopts a different strategy in that regard. China never attempts to annoy a government in office. That is where Mahinda has gone wrong and does not understand. Politics of Asian 'Big Brothers', needs to be studied with intelligence and method, as they are no permanent friends of their 'Small Brothers'.