Sri Lanka committed to ‘one-China’ policy: President Wickremesinghe says after Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan visit

International

oi-PTI

Colombo,
Aug
04:
Sri
Lanka
is
firmly
committed
to
the
one-China
policy,
President
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
reaffirmed
on
Thursday,
a
day
after
US
House
Speaker
Nancy
Pelosi
visited
Taiwan
despite
vociferous
protests
from
Beijing.

Pelosi
held
talks
with
Taiwan’s
top
leadership,
including
President
Tsai
Ing-wen,
on
Wednesday
and
reaffirmed
America’s
ironclad
support
for
the
self-ruling
island.

Pelosi
became
the
highest-ranking
American
official
in
25
years
to
visit
the
island
claimed
by
China,
which
quickly
announced
that
it
would
conduct
military
drills
close
to
Taiwan
in
retaliation
for
her
presence
in
Taipei.

‘I
have
no
home
to
go
to’:
Ranil
Wickremesinghe
on
protesters’
threats

”During
a
meeting
with
H.E.
Qi
Zhenhong,
China’s
Ambassador
to
Sri
Lanka,
reiterated
Sri
Lanka’s
firm
commitment
to
the
One
China
policy
as
well
as
to
the
UN
charter
principles
of
sovereignty
and
territorial
integrity
of
nations,”
the
president
of
the
crisis-hit
country
said
in
a
tweet
on
Thursday.

Countries
must
refrain
from
provocations
which
further
escalate
the
current
global
tensions,
Wickremesinghe
said
during
his
meeting
with
Qi
on
Wednesday.

He
also
said
that
”mutual
respect
and
non
interference
in
the
internal
affairs
of
countries
were
important
foundations
for
peaceful
cooperation
and
non
confrontation”.

China’s
foreign
ministry
has
reiterated
that
there
is
only
one
China
in
the
world
and
Taiwan
is
an
inalienable
part
of
the
country’s
territory.

Sri
Lanka,
which
is
facing
the
worst
economic
crisis
in
the
history
of
its
independence
since
1948,
has
huge
debt
to
repay
to
China,
whose
high
cost
infrastructure
projects
are
widely
blamed
for
the
island
nation’s
bankrupt
condition.

The
Chinese
unwillingness
to
restructure
Sri
Lanka’s
debt
has
placed
obstacles
to
the
IMF
bail
out
package
much
needed
by
the
debt-ridden
country
in
its
hour
of
crisis.

China
has
denied
that
Sri
Lanka
had
been
clamped
in
a
Chinese
debt
trap
by
funding
the
high
end
infrastructure
projects
on
the
southern
district
of
Hambantota
—
it’s
sea
port
and
the
airport
dubbed
the
world’s
quietest
with
hardly
any
flight
movements.

Wickremesinghe’s
predecessors,
the
Rajapaksa
brothers,
borrowed
from
China
to
fund
the
infrastructure
in
their
home
district.

Explained:
Why
is
China
upset
with
the
visit
by
Nancy
Pelosi
to
Taiwan

Wickremesinghe
as
the
prime
minister
in
2017
entered
a
99
year
lease
on
the
industrial
park
around
the
port
with
China
drawing
sharp
criticism
from
locals.

The
country
is
now
scrambling
for
much
needed
foreign
currency
to
fulfil
basic
necessities
such
as
food,
fuel
and
essential
medicines.

Sri
Lanka
has
seen
months
of
mass
unrest
over
the
worst
economic
crisis,
with
the
government
declaring
bankruptcy
in
mid-April
by
refusing
to
honour
its
international
debt.
The
country’s
total
debt
stands
at
USD
USD
51
billion.