India conveyed its willingness to seal an early deal for the development of Colombo Port’s East Container Terminal during the recent visit by India’s Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar.

Citing sources from the Sri Lankan government, Daily Mirror reported Jaishankar conveyed the message that India wants to seal the deal as early as possible. In May 2019, India and Japan jointly signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Sri Lanka government to develop the East Container Terminal of Colombo Port.

A year after the signing of the MOU, in June 2020, the new government, under Gotabaya Rajapaksha, but the decision to sign the final agreement on hold. The Sri Lankan government constituted a five-member committee to examine the concerns regarding the project. 

Trade unions and communist organizations in Sri Lanka upped the ante against handing over the port to any foreign country. On Wednesday, the day Jaishankar was in Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahindra Rajapakshe informed parliament that the government hasn’t yet decided to hand over the port or its management authority to any foreign firm. 

As China increased its footprint in Sri Lanka, India’s fear is obvious; the port should meet the same fate as the Hambantota port in near future. Desperation to seal the deal emanates from India’s natural strategic concerns of Chinese influence in its southern backyard.