Features

Black July– Pogrom and Survivors

Published

7 months ago

2024/09/8

by Jayantha Perera

It was an ordinary Monday morning. At the Lunawa railway station, I watched the calm blue sea dotted with a few fishing boats. The train to Colombo was 30 minutes late, and it was almost empty. I saw some confusion among railway passengers — some got off the train and got into a train that went to Kalutara. A friend among them warned me that I should not go to Colombo. When I reached the ARTI in Colombo 7, I had the eerie feeling that something was wrong. I saw some employees hurriedly leaving the ARTI. One told me that the Institute had received an anonymous telephone call that the LTTE had plans to attack Colombo before noon. I brushed off the rumour and went to my room.

I saw a Tamil colleague sobbing in her room. She told me that a mob had attacked her house in Wellawatte. The Police had taken her mother to a refugee camp. The director requested that I take my colleague to the refugee camp where her mother was. A driver, who was an ex-soldier, agreed to take us to the camp.

We realised the gravity of the security situation when we left the ARTI for the refugee camp. Hundreds of people, mostly office workers, were stranded on the road. People were walking home. Two soldiers checked our identity cards and my colleague’s handbag at the refugee camp. One asked me in Sinhala, “Why do you accompany a Tamil woman?” He told me politely that I should have sent her by herself without exposing myself to mobs. While we were waiting for the approval to enter the camp, a large crowd appeared from nowhere, shouting, “Kill the Tamils before they kill us! Some carried jerrycans full of petrol, iron clubs, and axes. They were in a frenzy. The soldiers at the camp gate stopped them before they reached the periphery wall of the school.

I introduced my colleague and myself to the Army officer at the registration desk as Deputy Directors of the ARTI. I told him my colleague had heard that her mother was already in the camp. He promised to find her whereabouts. When I left the camp, my colleague waved at me with tears in her eyes. I waited until she disappeared among the new refugees who were agitated and scared. Several women were crying, as they did not know what had happened to their children who went to work in the morning. Chaos, fear, hatred, and confusion reigned in the camp and its vicinity. It occurred to me that I had not offered to bring food or clothes for my colleague and her mother. I felt ashamed of myself.

The driver dropped me off at Bambalapitiya Junction on Galle Road. At the Bambalapitiya junction, I met two colleagues. We started walking towards Dehiwela, where we saw mobs searching for Tamils. A few stopped pedestrians and demanded to prove they were not Tamils. Suddenly, a convoy of cars and motorbicycles drove past us. Motorcycle riders shouted the LTTE had captured Colombo and the LTTE would kill us soon. A few minutes later, another convoy of vehicles passed us with the same message. Pedestrians ran to its side lanes, emptying the main road for about ten minutes.

At Dehiwela, we saw many men in their shorts and folded sarongs shouting the Sinhalese would kill the Tamils. Two men had lists of residents in the area and wanted to know their whereabouts. One mob got petrol by force from a gas station. We watched helplessly while mobs looted and demolished shops. At one shop, they grabbed the owner and assaulted him ruthlessly on the main road. He ran back to his shop with blood dripping from his head. I could not see the Army or Police on the road. Anarchy ruled, and many lost their lives and property in a few minutes.

I reached home exhausted and confused. I felt ashamed of myself because I could not help the people who were crying for help. The three young girls who ran along the Galle Road shouting for help had shaken me to my core. Without lunch, I slept. About an hour later, a jeep stopped in front of my house. The ARTI Director wanted me to go to the Ministry Head Office. I reached Colombo in 20 minutes, as the road was empty. The Army and the Air Force had taken control of the Galle Road. There were no mobs or fleeing people. But I could see the smoke rising from the burned houses, shops, and factories.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands presided over the meeting. The Secretary informed the meeting that the ministry would manage two refugee camps for a week or two. He wanted me to be at the refugee camp at St. Thomas’ College in Mount Lavinia. He explained that as many as 1,000 persons might seek refuge at the camp. My responsibilities were to feed them and provide bedding, drinking water, and sanitary facilities. The Secretary also told me that I should get the Army’s assistance and ask the Cooperative Wholesale Establishment (CWE) to get dry food to the camp. He signed several papers that authorised me to order and accept food, bedding, sanitary items, drinking water, blankets, plates, and glasses. He also assigned three Ministry officials to work at the camp.

Hundreds of adults and children were at St. Thomas’ College. Some were crying, others were shouting, and a few had bandaged heads and bloodstained arms. It was a chaotic situation. I told them, using a megaphone, that help would soon come, and the security forces would protect them. One laughed and asked, “Why do you want to help us. Aren’t you a Sinhalese?” I told him to be patient.

An old woman who lost her house told me a squad of goons had arrived at her place brandishing clubs and swords. They told her to get out of the house if she wanted to save her life. Another woman said that goons came with a list of names and checked each house on the lane for Tamil families before setting her home on fire. Families with small children and grown-up daughters had to save their children from mobs. Some parents pushed their daughters and sons over boundary walls to friends’ compounds to protect them from attackers before leaving their homes. Some of them did not know what had happened to their children.

My colleagues set up an office and recorded the refugees’ names and addresses. They also prepared an inventory of food, bedding, blankets, and sanitary facilities that we had received. NGOs, neighbourhood groups, and religious organisations already delivered food, essential medicine, and hygienic supplies. The camp received large quantities of rice, lentils, canned fish, onions, and bread. A benevolent donor sent more than 200 food parcels for dinner.

In the evening, I visited the ARTI Cafeteria Manager in Moratuwa. I asked him to find me six cooks and loan large cooking utensils. I promised to pay his charges within two weeks. His wife accompanied me to a small hamlet by the sea. There, she spoke to three middle-aged women and explained their new assignment. She asked them to collect three more women to go to St. Thomas’ College for a few days. I asked the Manager’s wife to pack basic spices, salt, and oil into one large cooking pot. The women had many years of experience cooking for many people at weddings and funerals.

Using the megaphone, I told the refugees that each family should find a place in a classroom or the large hall to sleep and collect bed sheets and mats from the camp office. A commotion erupted as some women did not want to sleep in rooms with strangers. Others were scared to sleep on the floor. After much discussion, we agreed to organise people into several clusters. ‘Neighbours,’ ‘children attending the same school,’ ‘professionals,’ and ‘government officials’ were some criteria for allocating camp space. Two large posters were hung on a wall showing men and women their toilets.

I rang a bell at 9 pm to indicate the dinner was ready. The food parcels we had received were sufficient to feed those who wanted to eat. Men and women lined up, and four cooks served food. Several young mothers requested milk for their toddlers. Fortunately, the storeroom had a few milk cartons and packets of milk powder. I asked them to prepare milk after dinner. Several older people did not eat rice at night and wanted bread. I checked the storeroom and found steamed bread received from India. I asked a cook to heat 25 small loaves of bread on a flat steel plate. I distributed the bread among those who preferred bread to rice.

It took about eight hours to settle the refugees in the camp and console them. I promised to check on their houses the following day. Many were urban poor who lived in small huts and rented dwellings in Dehiwela and Ratmalana. They had lost everything.

Several beggars who lived on the street had infiltrated the refugee camp after the Army chased them away from the pavements. It was difficult to distinguish them from the refugees. Security guards told me beggars were a security risk because they might steal whatever the refugees had with them, especially gold jewellery, or assault young women at night. The security guards could not check each entrant’s identity card because many had none.

After dinner, I thanked the cooks and allocated a place for them to sleep with bed sheets and mats. I discussed the breakfast with them and agreed to provide bread and pol sambal for adults and bread with eggs for children. Also, we decided to give each person a cup of tea.

I left the camp at 1 am. The road was empty, and the Army stopped me at two places. An army officer explained to me that the killing of 13 soldiers in the North and the delay in handing bodies to their families had triggered the riots. Looting and burning houses continued in lanes and slums. The Army did not have instructions to quell the riots and the mayhem. Instead, the Army controlled the main roads and arrested curfew breakers.

Before lunch, officials from the Commissioner General of Essential Services and the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands Secretary visited the camp with an Army Major. They talked to the refugees and noted their immediate concerns, such as withdrawing money from banks, contacting relatives, and getting medical attention. The Secretary spoke about the logistics and secured me two more vehicles with curfew passes. He told me to encourage refugees with friends or relatives nearby to move to such places as early as possible, as the riots were now under control. After they left, we served lunch of rice, dhal curry, and tempered potatoes. Many refugees told the kitchen crew that the food was good, though simple. More food, medicine, drinking water, and blankets arrived in the evening.

A Tamil colleague at the ARTI had become a refugee overnight. While fleeing, she went through a harrowing experience. Some shops from where she used to buy provisions were in flames. Mobs had attacked some people she knew in such shops after destroying shops and houses. Soon after she left home, a mob gathered in front of her house and checked the electoral list to identify the owners of houses in the lane. Fortunately, the list had the name of her father’s Sinhalese tenant. The mob spared her house.

One morning, I found a young girl at the camp crying. Her mother told me the girl’s 11th birthday was in two days. I asked her what she wanted. She said a birthday cake and her dollies. My colleagues promised to find a doll and to get a cake for her birthday.

We visited several bakeries in the area, but they were closed. We went to the Cafeteria Owner’s house in Moratuwa and begged his wife to bake a cake for the girl’s birthday. She listened to the little girl’s story and baked a large cake for her.

The girl’s mother lit a candle, and her friends sang ‘Happy Birthday’. For the first time, the girl smiled. But soon, she started crying, saying that she wanted her dollies. A colleague gave her a small doll. The girl said she had a similar doll and wanted to go home to play with her toys.

The most challenging request came from a group of older people. They complained they hate to mix with “low castes” and “uncouth” refugees, especially at mealtime. They found it repugnant to eat with them and share bathrooms. I asked them what they wanted me to do. They suggested segregating them from others and providing a separate sleeping area with a toilet. I told them I could not segregate people on a caste or class basis. I explained that the riots had ended and they should consider moving to their relatives and friends. It was the fifth day of the camp. They were unhappy but did not raise this issue again.

Many refugees wanted to leave the camp but were scared and confused. They also wanted to avoid burdening their relatives and friends. Some wanted to rebuild destroyed or damaged houses as fast as they could. They wanted to visit their homes and return to the camp. Several refugees told me that many affected families had already decided to sell their property and go to Jaffna or South India. A few wanted to seek political asylum in Western countries.

Parents with young children were worried about their education. Several girls asked me how to get their textbooks and exercise books from their destroyed houses. One girl told me her father could not buy books for her and her sister, as he had lost all his money. I patiently listened to them and took notes.

On the eighth day after the riots, the refugee camp was closed. Some refugees were overwhelmed by emotions and cried when they met friends and relatives at the school gate. The meetings were heart-rending, but I was happy that they were determined to restart their lives from scratch. My great worry, however, was the fate of the children. Some were traumatised and did not want to leave the camp, where they found some stability and care.

There were about 30 persons who wanted to stay longer at the camp. I told them the camp was no longer providing food. A few confessed that they were beggars who lived on the road or in abandoned buildings. At the refugee camp, they found a safe place with security, food, and basic facilities. A few of them were getting ready to restart, begging. One young man told me that beggars went through the worst form of aggression, torture, and hunger every day, and no one cared about their plight. He knew some refugees did not want to see them at the camp. But he said, “We, too, are human beings and deserve kindness and help.”

A few years later, a refugee family invited me to lunch at their new home. When the riots broke out their children were toddlers. They looked normal and happy. I wanted to know how they had restarted their lives after the riots, but I did not want to broach the subject on that happy occasion.

After lunch, I walked along a lane severely affected by riots. At two places, people recognised me. Some families had rebuilt their houses partially. Later, I met a businessman who told me that Tamils, who had money, left for India, Canada, and Australia. I do not know what happened to the wage workers, low-grade government servants, and, mainly, the garment factory workers I met at the refugee camp. They must have regained their everyday lives. I wish they had, but I do not know.

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Features

RIDDHI-MA:

Published

10 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Figure 1: Male bodies covered with heavy costumes. Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025, Source: Malshan Witharana.

A new Era of Dance in Sri Lanka

Kapila Palihawadana, an internationally renowned dancer and choreographer staged his new dance production, Riddhi-Ma, on 28 March 2025 at the Elphinstone theatre, which was filled with Sri Lankan theatregoers, foreign diplomats and students of dance. Kapila appeared on stage with his charismatic persona signifying the performance to be unravelled on stage. I was anxiously waiting to see nATANDA dancers. He briefly introduced the narrative and the thematic background to the production to be witnessed. According to him, Kapila has been inspired by the Sri Lankan southern traditional dance (Low Country) and the mythologies related to Riddhi Yâgaya (Riddi Ritual) and the black magic to produce a ‘contemporary ballet’.

Riddhi Yâgaya also known as Rata Yakuma is one of the elaborative exorcism rituals performed in the southern dance tradition in Sri Lanka. It is particularly performed in Matara and Bentara areas where this ritual is performed in order to curb the barrenness and the expectation of fertility for young women (Fargnoli & Seneviratne 2021). Kapila’s contemporary ballet production had intermingled both character, Riddi Bisaw (Princes Riddhi) and the story of Kalu Kumaraya (Black Prince), who possesses young women and caught in the evil gaze (yaksa disti) while cursing upon them to be ill (De Munck, 1990).

Kapila weaves a tapestry of ritual dance elements with the ballet movements to create visually stunning images on stage. Over one and a half hours of duration, Kapila’s dancers mesmerized the audience through their virtuosic bodily competencies in Western ballet, Sri Lankan dance, especially the symbolic elements of low country dance and the spontaneity of movements. It is human bodily virtuosity and the rhythmic structures, which galvanised our senses throughout the performance. From very low phases of bodily movements to high speed acceleration, Kapila managed to visualise the human body as an elevated sublimity.

Contemporary Ballet

Figure 2 – (L) Umesha Kapilarathna performs en pointe, and (R) Narmada Nekethani performs with Jeewaka Randeepa, Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, Maradana, 28th March 2025. Source:
Malshan Witharana

The dance production Riddhi-Ma was choreographed in several segments accompanied by a flow of various music arrangements and sound elements within which the dance narrative was laid through. In other words, Kapila as a choreographer, overcomes the modernist deadlock in his contemporary dance work that the majority of Sri Lankan dance choreographers have very often succumbed to. These images of bodies of female dancers commensurate the narrative of women’s fate and her vulnerability in being possessed by the Black Demon and how she overcomes and emancipates from the oppression. In this sense, Kapila’s dancers have showcased their ability to use the bodies not much as an object which is trained to perform a particular tradition but to present bodily fluidity which can be transformed into any form. Kapila’s performers possess formlessness, fluid fragility through which they break and overcome their bodily regimentations.

It was such a highly sophisticated ‘contemporary ballet’ performed at a Sri Lankan theatre with utmost rigour and precision. Bodies of all male and female dancers were highly trained and refined through classical ballet and contemporary dance. In addition, they demonstrated their abilities in performing other forms of dance. Their bodies were trained to achieve skilful execution of complex ballet movements, especially key elements of traditional ballet namely, improvisation, partnering, interpretation and off-balance and the local dance repertoires. Yet, these key ballet elements are not necessarily a part of contemporary ballet training (Marttinen, 2016). However, it is important for the dance students to learn these key elements of traditional ballet and use them in the contemporary dance settings. In this sense, Kapila’s dancers have achieved such vigour and somatic precision through assiduous practice of the body to create the magic on stage.

Pas de deux

Among others, a particular dance sequence attracted my attention the most. In the traditional ballet lexicon, it is a ‘pas de deux’ which is performed by the ‘same race male and female dancers,’ which can be called ‘a duet’. As Lutts argues, ‘Many contemporary choreographers are challenging social structures and norms within ballet by messing with the structure of the pas de deux (Lutts, 2019). Pas de Deux is a dance typically done by male and female dancers. In this case, Kapila has selected a male and a female dancer whose gender hierarchies appeared to be diminished through the choreographic work. In the traditional pas de deux, the male appears as the backdrop of the female dancer or the main anchorage of the female body, where the female body is presented with the support of the male body. Kapila has consciously been able to change this hierarchical division between the traditional ballet and the contemporary dance by presenting the female dominance in the act of dance.

The sequence was choreographed around a powerful depiction of the possession of the Gara Yakâ over a young woman, whose vulnerability and the powerful resurrection from the possession was performed by two young dancers. The female dancer, a ballerina, was in a leotard and a tight while wearing a pair of pointe shoes (toe shoes). Pointe shoes help the dancers to swirl on one spot (fouettés), on the pointed toes of one leg, which is the indication of the ballet dancer’s ability to perform en pointe (The Kennedy Centre 2020).

The stunning imagery was created throughout this sequence by the female and the male dancers intertwining their flexible bodies upon each other, throwing their bodies vertically and horizontally while maintaining balance and imbalance together. The ballerina’s right leg is bent and her toes are directed towards the floor while performing the en pointe with her ankle. Throughout the sequence she holds the Gara Yakâ mask while performing with the partner.

The male dancer behind the ballerina maintains a posture while depicting low country hand gestures combining and blurring the boundaries between Sri Lankan dance and the Western ballet (see figure 3). In this sequence, the male dancer maintains the balance of the body while lifting the female dancer’s body in the air signifying some classical elements of ballet.

Haptic sense

Figure 3: Narmada Nekathani performs with the Gara Yaka mask while indicating her right leg as en pointe. Male dancer, Jeewaka Randeepa’s hand gestures signify the low country pose. Riddhi-Ma, Dance Theatre at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025. Source: Malshan Witharana.

One significant element of this contemporary ballet production is the costume design. The selection of colour palette, containing black, red and while combining with other corresponding colours and also the costumes which break the traditional rules and norms are compelling. I have discussed in a recent publication how clothes connect with the performer’s body and operate as an embodied haptic perception to connect with the spectators (Liyanage, 2025). In this production, the costumes operate in two different ways: First it signifies sculpted bodies creating an embodied, empathic experience.

Secondly, designs of costumes work as a mode of three dimensional haptic sense. Kapila gives his dancers fully covered clothing, while they generate classical ballet and Sinhalese ritual dance movements. The covered bodies create another dimension to clothing over bodies. In doing so, Kapila attempts to create sculpted bodies on stage by blurring the boundaries of gender oriented clothing and its usage in Sri Lankan dance.

Sri Lankan female body on stage, particularly in dance has been presented as an object of male desire. I have elsewhere cited that the lâsya or the feminine gestures of the dance repertoire has been the marker of the quality of dance against the tândava tradition (Liyanage, 2025). The theatregoers visit the theatre to appreciate the lâsya bodies of female dancers and if the dancer meets this threshold, then she becomes the versatile dancer. Kandyan dancers such as Vajira and Chithrasena’s dance works are explored and analysed with this lâsya and tândava criteria. Vajira for instance becomes the icon of the lâsya in the Kandyan tradition. It is not my intention here to further discuss the discourse of lâsya and tândava here.

But Kapila’s contemporary ballet overcomes this duality of male-female aesthetic categorization of lâsya and tândava which has been a historical categorization of dance bodies in Sri Lanka (Sanjeewa 2021).

Figure 4: Riddhi-Ma’s costumes creates sculpted bodies combining the performer and the audience through empathic projection. Dancers, Sithija Sithimina and Senuri Nimsara appear in Riddhi-Ma, at Elphinstone Theatre, 28th March 2025, Source, Malshan Witharana.

Conclusion

Dance imagination in the Sri Lankan creative industry exploits the female body as an object. The colonial mind set of the dance body as a histrionic, gendered, exotic and aesthetic object is still embedded in the majority of dance productions produced in the current cultural industry. Moreover, dance is still understood as a ‘language’ similar to music where the narratives are shared in symbolic movements. Yet, Kapila has shown us that dance exists beyond language or lingual structures where it creates humans to experience alternative existence and expression. In this sense, dance is intrinsically a mode of ‘being’, a kinaesthetic connection where its phenomenality operates beyond the rationality of our daily life.

At this juncture, Kapila and his dance ensemble have marked a significant milestone by eradicating the archetypical and stereotypes in Sri Lankan dance. Kapila’s intervention with Riddi Ma is way ahead of our contemporary reality of Sri Lankan dance which will undoubtedly lead to a new era of dance theatre in Sri Lanka.

References

De Munck, V. C. (1990). Choosing metaphor. A case study of Sri Lankan exorcism. Anthropos, 317-328. Fargnoli, A., & Seneviratne, D. (2021). Exploring Rata Yakuma: Weaving dance/movement therapy and a

Sri Lankan healing ritual. Creative Arts in Education and Therapy (CAET), 230-244.

Liyanage, S. 2025. “Arts and Culture in the Post-War Sri Lanka: Body as Protest in Post-Political Aragalaya (Porattam).” In Reflections on the Continuing Crises of Post-War Sri Lanka, edited by Gamini Keerawella and Amal Jayawardane, 245–78. Colombo: Institute for International Studies (IIS) Sri Lanka.

Lutts, A. (2019). Storytelling in Contemporary Ballet.

Samarasinghe, S. G. (1977). A Methodology for the Collection of the Sinhala Ritual. Asian Folklore Studies, 105-130.

Sanjeewa, W. (2021). Historical Perspective of Gender Typed Participation in the Performing Arts in Sri Lanka During the Pre-Colonial, The Colonial Era, and the Post-Colonial Eras. International Journal of Social Science And Human Research, 4(5), 989-997.

The Kennedy Centre. 2020. “Pointe Shoes Dancing on the Tips of the Toes.” Kennedy-Center.org. 2020 https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media- and-interactives/media/dance/pointe-shoes/..

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Himansi Dehigama for proofreading this article.

About the author:

Saumya Liyanage (PhD) is a film and theatre actor and professor in drama and theatre, currently working at the Department of Theatre Ballet and Modern Dance, Faculty of Dance and Drama, University of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA), Colombo. He is the former Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and is currently holding the director position of the Social Reconciliation Centre, UVPA Colombo.

Features

Sri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part II

Published

10 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Chinese naval ship

Chinese Naval Entry and End of Post-War Unipolarity

The ascendancy of China as an emerging superpower is one of the most striking shifts in the global distribution of economic and political power in the 21st century. With its strategic rise, China has assumed a more proactive diplomatic and economic role in the Indian Ocean, signalling its emergence as a global superpower. This new leadership role is exemplified by initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The Economist noted that “China’s decision to fund a new multilateral bank rather than give more to existing ones reflects its exasperation with the glacial pace of global economic governance reform” (The Economist, 11 November 2014). Thus far, China’s ascent to global superpower status has been largely peaceful.

In 2025, in terms of Navy fleet strength, China became the world’s largest Navy, with a fleet of 754 ships, thanks to its ambitious naval modernisation programme. In May 2024, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) further strengthened its capabilities by commissioning the Fujian, its latest aircraft carrier. Equipped with an advanced electromagnetic catapult system, the Fujian can launch larger and heavier aircraft, marking a significant upgrade over its predecessors.

Driven by export-led growth, China sought to reinvest its trade surplus, redefining the Indian Ocean region not just as a market but as a key hub for infrastructure investment. Notably, over 80 percent of China’s oil imports from the Persian Gulf transit to the Straits of Malacca before reaching its industrial centres. These factors underscore the Indian Ocean’s critical role in China’s economic and naval strategic trajectories.

China’s port construction projects along the Indian Ocean littoral, often associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), exemplify its deepening geopolitical and economic engagement in the region. These initiatives encompass multipurpose berth development, deep-sea port construction, and supporting infrastructure projects aimed at enhancing maritime connectivity and trade. Key projects include the development of Gwadar Port in Pakistan, a strategic asset for China’s access to the Arabian Sea; Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka, which became a focal point of debt diplomacy concerns; the Payra deep-sea port in Bangladesh; as well as port and road infrastructure development in Myanmar’s Yunnan and Kyaukphyu regions and Cambodia’s Koh Kong.

While these projects were promoted as avenues for economic growth and regional connectivity, they also triggered geopolitical tensions and domestic opposition in several host countries. Concerns over excessive debt burdens, lack of transparency, and potential dual-use (civilian and military) implications of port facilities led to scrutiny from both local and external stakeholders, including India and Western powers. As a result, some projects faced significant pushback, delays, and, in certain cases, suspension or cancellation. This opposition underscores the complex interplay between economic cooperation, strategic interests, and sovereignty concerns in China’s Indian Ocean engagements.

China’s expanding economic, diplomatic, and naval footprint in the Indian Ocean has fundamentally altered the region’s strategic landscape, signalling the end of early post-Cold War unipolarity. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) initiatives, China has entrenched itself economically, financing. Diplomatically, Beijing has deepened its engagement with littoral states through bilateral agreements, security partnerships, and regional forums, challenging traditional Western and Indian influence.

China’s expanding naval deployments in the Indian Ocean, including its military base in Djibouti, and growing security cooperation with regional states, mark the end of unchallenged US dominance in the region. The Indian Ocean is now a contested space, where China’s presence compels strategic recalibrations by India, the United States, and other regional actors. The evolving security landscape in the Indian Ocean—marked by intensifying competition, shifting alliances, and the rise of a multipolar order—has significant implications for Sri Lanka’s geopolitical future.

India views China’s growing economic, political, and strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region as a key strategic challenge. In response, India has pursued a range of strategic, political, and economic measures to counterbalance Chinese influence, particularly in countries like Sri Lanka through infrastructure investment, defense partnerships, and diplomatic engagements.

Other Extra-Regional powers

Japan and Australia have emerged as significant players in the post-Cold War strategic landscape of the Indian Ocean. During the early phases of the Cold War, Australia played a crucial role in Western ‘Collective Security Alliances’ (ANZUS and (SEATO). However, its direct engagement in Indian Ocean security remained limited, primarily supporting the British Royal Navy under Commonwealth obligations. Japan, meanwhile, refrained from deploying naval forces in the region after World War II, adhering to its pacifist constitution and post-war security policies. In recent decades, shifting strategic conditions have prompted both Japan and Australia to reassess their roles in the Indian Ocean, leading to greater defence cooperation and a more proactive regional presence.

In the post-Cold War era, Australia has progressively expanded its naval engagements in the Indian Ocean, driven by concerns over maritime security, protection of trade routes, and China’s growing influence. Through initiatives, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) and deeper defence partnerships with India and the United States, Australia has bolstered its strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region.

Recalibration of Japan’s approach

Japan, too, has recalibrated its approach to Indian Ocean security in response to geopolitical shifts. Recognising the Indian Ocean’s critical importance for its energy security and trade, Japan has strengthened its naval presence through port visits, joint exercises, and maritime security cooperation. The Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) has taken on a more active role in anti-piracy operations, freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS), and strategic partnerships with Indian Ocean littoral states. This shift aligns with Japan’s broader strategy of contributing to regional stability while balancing its constitutional constraints on military force projection.

Japan’s proactive role in the Indian Ocean region is evident in its diplomatic and defence engagements. In January 2019, Japan sent its Foreign Minister, Taro Kono, and Chief of Staff, Joint Staff, Katsutoshi Kawano, to the Raisina Dialogue, a high-profile geopolitical conference in India. Japan’s National Security Strategy, released in December 2022, identifies China’s growing assertiveness as its greatest strategic challenge and underscores the need to deepen bilateral ties and multilateral defence cooperation in the Indian Ocean. It also emphasises the importance of securing stable access to sea-lanes, through which more than 80 percent of Japan’s oil imports pass. In recent years, Japan has expanded its port investment portfolio across the Indian Ocean, with major projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. In 2021, Japan participated for the first time in CARAT-Sri Lanka (Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training), a bilateral naval exercise. Japan’s Maritime Self-Defence Force returned for the exercise in January 2023, held at Trincomalee Port and Mullikulam Base.

Japan’s strategic interests in the Indian Ocean have been most evident in its involvement in port infrastructure development projects. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar are key countries where early Chinese-led port construction faced setbacks. Unlike India, which carries historical and political complexities in its relations with these countries, Japan is better positioned to compete with China. In December 2021, a Japanese company established a ship repair and rebuilding facility in Trincomalee, complementing the already well-established Tokyo Cement factory. When the Sri Lanka Ports Authority announced plans in mid-2022 to develop Trincomalee as an industrial port—inviting expressions of interest from investors to utilise port facilities and up to 2,400 hectares of surrounding land—Trincomalee regained strategic attention.

The Colombo Dockyard, in collaboration with Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, has established a rapid response afloat service in Trincomalee, marking a significant development in Japan’s engagement with Sri Lanka’s maritime infrastructure. This initiative aligns with Japan’s broader strategic interests in the Bay of Bengal, a region of critical economic and security importance. A key Japanese concern appears to be limiting China’s ability to establish a permanent presence in Trincomalee. This initiative underscores the broader strategic competition in the Indian Ocean. Trincomalee, with its deep-water harbour, has long been regarded as a critical maritime asset. Japan’s involvement reflects its efforts to deepen economic and strategic engagement with Sri Lanka amid growing regional competition. The challenge before Sri Lanka is how to navigate this strategic contest while maximising its national interests.

Other Regional Powers

In analyzing the evolving naval security architecture of the post-Cold War Indian Ocean, particular attention should be given to the naval developments of regional powers such as Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. In 2012, Pakistan established the Naval Strategic Force Command (NSFC) to strengthen Pakistan’s policy of Credible Minimum Deterrence (CMD). The creation of the NSFC suggests a shift toward sea-based deterrence, complementing Pakistan’s broader military strategy. In December 2012, Pakistan conducted a series of cruise missile tests from naval platforms in the Arabian Sea. Given India’s expanding maritime capabilities, which Pakistan views as a significant threat, the Pakistan Navy may consider deploying tactical nuclear weapons on surface ships as part of its evolving deterrence strategy. Sri Lanka’s foreign policy cannot overlook this development.

Indonesia also emerged as a significant player in the evolving naval security landscape of the Indian Ocean. In 2010, it launched a military modernisation programme aimed at achieving a ‘Minimum Essential Force’ (MEF) by 2024. As part of this initiative, Indonesia sought to build a modern Navy with 247 surface vessels and 12 submarines. One of the primary challenges faced by the Indonesian Navy (TNI-AL) is piracy. To enhance maritime security, Indonesia and Singapore signed the SURPIC Cooperation Arrangement in Bantam in May 2005, enabling real-time sea surveillance in the Singapore Strait for more effective naval patrols. In 2017, Indonesia introduced the Indonesian Ocean Policy (IOP) and subsequently incorporated blue economy strategies into its national development agenda, reinforcing its maritime vision. According to projections from the Global Firepower Index, published in 2025, the Indonesian Navy is ranked fourth in global ranking and second in Asia in terms of Navy fleet strength (Global Firepower, 2025).

In October 2012, the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) announced plans to build a second Scorpène simulator training facility at its base in Kota Kinabalu, in addition to submarine base in Sepanggar, Sabah, constructed in 2002. To enhance its naval capabilities, the RMN planned to procure 18 Littoral Mission Ships (LMS) for maritime surveillance and six Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) between 2019 and 2023. Malaysia and China finalised their first major defence deal during Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to Beijing in November 2016. During this visit, Malaysia’s Defence Ministry signed a contract to procure LMS from China, as reported by The Guardian. Despite this agreement, Malaysia continues to maintain amicable relations with both China and India, as does Indonesia.

The increasing presence of major naval powers, the rise of regional stakeholders, and the growing significance of trade routes and maritime security have transformed the Indian Ocean into a central pivot of both regional and global politics, with Sri Lanka positioned at its heart. (To be Continued)

by Gamini Keerawella

Features

More excitement for Andrea Marr…

Published

10 hours ago

2025/04/8

Sahan Weerasooriya

Andrea Marr with IntoGroove. They are world class, she says

Sri Lankan Andrea Marr, now based in Australia, is in the spotlight again. She says she has teamed up with a fantastic bunch of Sri Lankan musicians, in Melbourne, and the band is called IntoGroove.

“The band has been going strong for many years and I have been a fan of this outfit for quite a few years; just love these guys, authentic R&B and funk.”

Although Andrea has her original blues band, The McNaMarr Project, and they do have a busy schedule, she went on to say that “when the opportunity came up to join these guys, I simply couldn’t refuse … they are too good.”

IntoGroove is Jude Nicholas (lead vocals), Peter Menezes (bass), Keith Pereira (drums), Blaise De Silva (keyboards) and and Steve Wright (guitar).

Andrea Marr: Powerhouse of the blues

“These guys are a fantastic band and I really want everyone to hear them.”

Andrea is a very talented artiste with many achievements to her credit, and a vocal coach, as well.

In fact, she did her second vocal coaching session at Australian Songwriters Conference early this year.

Her first student showcase for this year took place last Sunday, in Melbourne, and it brought into the spotlight the wonderful acts she has moulded, as teacher and mentor.

What makes Andrea extra special is that she has years of teaching experience and is able to do group vocal coaching for all styles, levels and genres.

In January, this year, she performed at the exclusive ‘Women In Blues’ showcase at Alfred’s On Beale Street (rock venue with live entertainment), in Memphis, in the USA, during the International Blues Challenge when bands from all over the world converge on Memphis for the ‘Olympics of the Blues.’

The McNaMarr Project with Andrea and Lindsay Marr in the
vocal spotlight

This was her fourth performance in the home of the blues; she has represented Australian Blues three times and, on this occasion, she went as ambassador for Blues Music Victoria, and The Melbourne Blues Appreciation Society’s ‘Women In Blues’ Coordinator.

Andrea was inducted into the Blues Music Victoria Hall of Fame in 2022 and released her 10th album which hit #1 on the Australian Blues Charts.

Known as ‘the pint-sized powerhouse of the blues’ for her high energy, soulful, original music, Andrea is also a huge fan of the late Elvis Presley and has checked out Graceland, in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, many times.

In Melbourne, the singer also plays a major role in helping Animal Rescue organisations find homes for abandoned cats.

Andrea Marr’s wish, at the moment, is that the Lankan audience, in Melbourne, would get behind this band, IntoGroove. They are world class, she added.