28 Nov 2024
Sri Lanka votes for change
Primed for unrest, the country’s elections went off without incident, and a new man-of-the-people has emerged as leader.
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31 Oct 2024
Asia’s year of electoral upsets
The poor result for the region’s most successful electoral machine in Japan on Sunday has only underlined a surprisingly bad year for incumbents across Asia. -
23 Sep 2024
Curfew lifted, change arrives: A firsthand view of Sri Lanka’s historic election
Newly-elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake struck a chord with a nation frustrated and crying out for a brighter future. -
16 Apr 2024
India’s takeover of the Trincomalee Oil Tank Farm will help build energy interdependence with Sri Lanka
Old infrastructure could get a new lease on life. -
27 Mar 2024
Mapping the oceans is the new front in the battle for influence in the Indian Ocean
Ruling the waves means first understanding what lies beneath. Enter the geopolitics of hydrography. -
21 Aug 2023
India doubles down on regional connectivity to counter China
New Delhi has big advantages in its South Asia infrastructure push – even if outspending China isn’t one of them. -
8 Aug 2023
Sri Lanka’s deep debt bind
Imposing losses on domestic creditors essentially imposes losses on the country itself. -
26 Jun 2023
After the meltdown: Sri Lanka’s strategic options
With its economic and political crisis in the rear-view mirror, Colombo has the chance to reposition itself regionally. -
21 Feb 2023
Confronting the mounting human costs of Sri Lanka’s debt spiral
More than just urgent debt relief, the country also needs help addressing a humanitarian crisis. -
9 Feb 2023
With caution and tact: How Asian countries voted on Ukraine at the UN
A resolution forces nations to show their hand. After Russia’s invasion, consistency has not been to everyone’s liking. -
18 Sep 2022
Concern for Sri Lankans fleeing to India amid economic crisis
A close haven carries appeal, but can life ever be settled without a legal status? -
22 Aug 2022
Blue economy may be the key to South Asia's upswing
Why governance, blue bonds and women are critical to a thriving ocean-based economy. -
19 Aug 2022
China is losing ground in Sri Lanka
Beijing is blamed unfairly for its role in the island’s crisis – but its response has hardly enhanced China’s influence. -
8 Aug 2022
Sri Lanka after the revolution: what happened, what next?
Protesters might assume a corrupt system will crumble, but the political class might be just as determined to hang on. -
27 Jul 2022
Is Pakistan heeding the warning signs from Sri Lanka?
Surging prices, shortages, growing debt, a teetering economy. Familiar ingredients point to trouble ahead. -
20 Apr 2022
Russia-Ukraine: It always comes down to food
War in eastern Europe is devastating the supply of staple goods to distant regions that can least afford it. -
2 Mar 2022
Australia begins to step it up in the northeast Indian Ocean
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives are keen in engage and will help plug a gap in Australia’s Indo Pacific strategy. -
10 Jan 2022
Indian Ocean step-up
India is in the driver’s seat to build new security structures in the region, but it can’t do it alone. -
9 Nov 2021
India’s answer to China’s ports in Sri Lanka
Adani’s multimillion-dollar investment in Colombo not only makes commercial sense, it’s a strategic game-changer, too. -
26 Aug 2021
Sri Lanka’s simmering twin crises
A pandemic downturn furthers slows an already pallid economy, while tensions with the West prompt a turn to Beijing. -
27 Oct 2020
Singapore and Sri Lanka: Newfound opportunities amid Covid-19 pandemic
Singapore’s efforts to diversify food imports is a practical choice that bodes well for Colombo’s Asia-centric policy. -
14 Sep 2020
Tackling environmental security threats in the Indian Ocean
A “Quad-Plus” could bring together regional expertise and resources to address issues of collective interest. -
9 Sep 2020
Debunking the myth of China’s “debt-trap diplomacy”
Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence. -
1 Sep 2020
Where to for Sri Lanka’s foreign policy?
“India first” is the message, but economic reality will guide the direction Colombo charts. That points to China, too. -
20 Aug 2020
Australia and Sri Lanka: Air connectivity in the Indian Ocean region
The success of the two countries’ naval cooperation shows the potential for expanded partnership. -
17 Aug 2020
Sri Lanka’s elections: Another step in the wrong direction
The consolidation of Rajapaksa rule promises to accelerate what is already a swing back towards repressive government. -
9 Mar 2020
The curious case of the US Sri Lanka sanctions
An American administration with little apparent regard for human rights put sanctions on an alleged war criminal. Why? -
26 Nov 2019
In Sri Lanka, the Rajapaksas will rule ruthlessly
The election of Gotabaya Rajapaksa augurs a return to the abuses and anti-democratic tendencies of his brother’s regime. -
13 Nov 2019
Sri Lanka’s election threatens a return to authoritarian rule
A looming comeback by the powerful Rajapaksa family stirs fear among minorities and imperils fragile democratic gains. -
1 Oct 2019
In Sri Lanka’s election, bumps ahead
A former president’s brother leads the pack, trailed by an assassinated president’s son. -
13 Jun 2019
Maybe Australia should donate a warship to Sri Lanka
Far from surplus or scrap, the navy’s last Adelaide Class frigates are strategic assets that can still serve a mission. -
11 Jun 2019
En masse Muslim resignations a setback for healing in Sri Lanka
The Muslim community is a vital to combatting terrorism and promoting social harmony so alienating them makes no sense. -
23 Apr 2019
Sri Lanka attacks: Still many puzzles to solve
<p>If NTJ is responsible for this complex, multi-target suicide attack, it probably got external help.</p> -
14 Mar 2019
Sri Lanka: politics overthrows justice
Internal power struggles have kept the administration occupied while its human rights commitments fall to the wayside. -
6 Nov 2018
Sri Lanka: when is a political opinion a crime?
The arrest of a Tamil MP has put a spotlight on the limits of free expression in the island nation. -
2 Oct 2018
Post-war justice in Sri Lanka inches forward
The Office of Missing Persons was set up to investigate civil war “disappearances”, but its efficacy remains to be seen.