JRSSEM 2023, Vol. 02, No. 8, 1797 – 1812

E-ISSN: 2807 - 6311, P-ISSN: 2807 - 6494

DOI: 10.59141/jrssem.v2i08.405 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem

ANALYSIS OF LOBBYING AND NEGOTIATIONS OF SRI

LANKA WITH CHINA REGARDING THE ACQUISITION OF

HAMBANTOTA PORT IN 2017

Tessalonica Manuputty

Agung Yudhistira Nugroho

International Relations Study Program, University of 17 August 1945 Jakarta, Indonesia

Email: tessalonicaa2@gmail.com, agung.nugroho@uta45jakarta.ac.id

*Correspondence: tessalonicaa[email protected]

Submitted

: March 05

th,

2023

Revised

: March 12

2023

Accepted

: March 25

2023

Abstract: This study aims to analyze Sri Lanka's lobbying and negotiations with China by offering

debt for equity swaps, i.e. exchanging debt into assets. The situation at that time was that Sri Lanka

wanted to build a port on the Hambantota route, now known as Hambantota Port. But Sri Lanka

lacks funds for development and needs help from a large economy. China, which has good bilateral

relations with Sri Lanka, is willing to assist Sri Lanka in the form of loans. Behind the loan lies China's

national interest, which is to expand the trade route of the Belt and Road Initiative. But after the

port operated, the output of the port was not optimal and even suffered losses. Gradually Sri

Lanka's foreign debt is getting bigger, and it is in a cornered condition of difficulty paying debts to

China, but on the other hand, Sri Lanka also needs funds, namely port operational costs to continue

operating. Finally, Sri Lanka logician to China by doing debt for equity swaps with the result that

China agreed to acquire the Hambantota port.

Keywords: Port Acquisitions; Lobbying and Negotiations; Belt and Road Initiative.

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| 1798

INTRODUCTION

The People's Republic of China-PRC

(hereinafter referred to as China) which was

established on October 1, 1949, is a country

with a communist socialist political system

but a capitalist economic system, in that,

lies the uniqueness of China which is run

two systems at once. China is the most

populous country in the world. According

to China's National Bureau of Statistics, the

population is 1.41 billion. China grew into a

superpower that is said to rival the United

States. China is a big country that cannot

be underestimated as it used to be, this

country is developing rapidly, especially in

terms of its economy. China's success in

becoming one of the superpowers is the

result of China's efforts so far by

establishing many relations with other

countries both bilateral and multilateral, in

various fields; politically, economically, and

socially, one of which is that China has

bilateral relations with Sri Lanka (Kunandar,

2022).

Sri Lanka is one of the South Asian

countries that have the official name of the

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

The country, which became independent

on February 4, 1948, relied on exports from

its agricultural sector as the main source to

meet the country's economy. Other sectors

that Sri Lanka has are textiles, spices,

rubber, garment products, and processed

from the sea and coconuts. In this country,

there are also precious stones namely jade,

bidi, emerald, diamond, pomegranate

Mirah, etc. The country has a major industry

namely graphite which is mostly exported

to Japan, in addition, there are also ceramic

and porcelain industries. Bilateral relations

between China and Sri Lanka are

cooperation between developed countries

and developing countries, where the

situation is that developing countries seek

to carry out their country's development

but need assistance from developed

countries in the form of loan funds. This is

the reason Sri Lanka despite various trade

and social welfare problems, conducts

trade and economic cooperation with

China (MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS,

2020) (Amalia, 2016).

China's booming economy originated

from economic reforms that China has

carried out since 1978, after implementing

the Open Door Policy during the reign of

Deng Xiao Ping. China's economic progress

continues to increase now, new policy

innovations continue to be issued to

continue to improve its economy. Then

through the economic field, China began to

expand its hegemony, starting from the

Asian continent to Europe. One of the

policies is the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The vision of the Belt and Road Initiative

(BRI) is to improve infrastructure

development and the welfare of BRI states

by improving cross-border connectivity

between countries. Some of BRI's

cooperation priorities are Policy

Coordination, Facilities Connectivity, Free

Trade, Financial Cooperation, and People

People Bonds (Policy, 2016).

China provides loan assistance to Sri

Lanka, which includes national interests

that China exercises. Sri Lanka is taking part

in the BRI project with China agreeing to

the String of Pearl. One of the

implementations of China's BRI policy is the

construction of ports. Sri Lanka needs a

port so that export & import activities can

1799 | Analysis of Lobbying and Negotiations of Sri Lanka With China Regarding The

Acquisition of Hambantota Port In 2017

run easily and that there is a movement in

the Sri Lankan economy. China provided a

$1.1 billion loan to Sri Lanka, making Sri

Lanka the third largest recipient of Chinese

funds after Pakistan and Russia, among

other BRI countries. But in return, according

to an agreement with CM Port (China

Merchants Port Holding) in 2017, the

Chinese government will own 85% of the

Port and have a lease of the Port for 99

years and approximately 130,000 hectares

of land around the port. It may seem unfair,

and burdensome to Sri Lanka, but this is a

step that Sri Lanka needs to take to revive

its economy by facilitating export and

import activities in the country (Sebayang,

2019).

From the Chinese side, the port made

by Sri Lanka is the capital of China, because

the port is a stopover route for ships to

transport and distribute export-import

commodities to China not only Sri Lankan

commodities, and the port is in China's

maritime trade route, the Belt and Road

Initiative (BRI). However, the construction of

this port made Sri Lanka dependent

according to the agreed cooperation

agreement, which resulted in this

development becoming a debt and a new

problem for Sri Lanka. Due to Sri Lanka's

inability to repay its loan as due at the end

of 2016, the Sri Lankan port was handed

over to China with the acquisition of a

majority stake of 85% of Hambantota Port

signed on July 25, 2017. With the takeover

of the port, China's naval power in the

Indian Ocean is getting stronger, this is

China's strategy to increase its strength in

the international realm. The cooperation

offered by China, through the BRI policy,

creates dependence of borrowing countries

on China(Nurjayanti, 2020)(Shepard,

2016)(Nurjayanti, 2020).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

International Cooperation Theory

In conducting international relations

there are several forms of social interaction,

such interaction can be in the form of war,

conflict, and cooperation in international

organizations. Cooperation is a form of the

cooperative effort carried out by

individuals with other individuals or groups

in achieving one or several goals. After the

Cold War ended, many countries

established close relations through

international cooperation. Until now,

international cooperation is a form of

activity that cannot be avoided by any

country in the world. The necessity of

establishing international cooperation

arises due to the interdependence of

international actors on the needs of their

respective countries (Mas'oed,

1990)(Widiastuti, 2012)(Zulkifli, 2012).

Koesnadi Kartasasmita in his book

entitled International Organization and

Administration also states that

international cooperation in the

international community is a must as a

result of the existence of interdependent

relations and the increasing complexity of

human relations in the international

community. International cooperation

occurs because of a national understanding

that has common goals, based on

international conditions that need each

other. Cooperation is based on mutual

interests among countries, but those

interests are not identical. According to

James E Dougherty, cooperation is a series

of relationships that are not based on

Tessalonica Manuputty

Agung Yudhistira Nugroho

| 1800

violence or coercion and are also

authorized by law. Cooperation occurs

because of behavioral adjustments by

actors in response and anticipation of

choices made by other actors

(Kartasasmita, 1997)(Dougherty, 1997).

The objectives of establishing

international cooperation are: (Widiastuti,

2012).

a. Fulfill the needs of the people of each

country;

b. Prevent and avoid conflicts that may

occur;

c. Gained recognition as an

independent state;

d. Strengthening state relations.

Through this theory, the author

analyzes that Sri Lanka cooperates with

China to build infrastructure, namely a port

in the Hambantota region, known as

Hambantota Port, of course, to advance the

Sri Lankan national economy, more easily

exporting specifically Sri Lankan

commodities/ natural resources. Likewise

with China, in carrying out the BRI program

or policy, China initiated this policy in the

form of cooperation with various countries

in the world to build trade routes in ancient

times with the term silk road which was a

route passed by traders from Europe to

China. China is a borrowing country, which

sits with countries that China lends funds to

build and improve its infrastructure, which

on other hand helps China to succeed in

the BRI (a trade route that China designed

to expand its hegemony and economy).

Negotiation Theory

Negotiation is one of the

communication instruments. Negotiation

requires a communicative approach, in a

negotiation process there are various kinds

of interactive elements. A communicative

approach is an approach that explains

symbols, messages, and language as

communication tools used to receive

proposals and framework problems that

can affect others in the process of reaching

an agreement. Negotiation has an

important role for every policymaker to get

a better perspective on complex issues,

behind the importance of a policy problem.

(Aditriya, 2020).

According to Daniel Druckman, there

are 4 main streams of negotiation theory,

namely puzzle solving, a bargaining game,

organizational management, and political

diplomacy. According to Howard Raiffa, the

types of negotiation approaches are

symmetrical and asymmetrical dimensions

as well as prescriptions and descriptions.

According to Linda L. Putnam, there are 2

common approaches, namely descriptive

bargaining and integrative bargaining.

According to me. William Zartman, there

are 5 different levels of analysis in

negotiation, namely the structural

approach (win-lose), process approach

(win-lose), integrative approach (win-win

solutions), strategic approach (win-lose),

and behavioral approach (win-lose).

Through this theory, the author analyzes

that Sri Lanka also negotiated with China

because of difficulties in terms of debt

repayment for the construction of

Hambantota Port

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This research is descriptive research

with a qualitative approach and uses

secondary data, namely pre-existing

information, which is then collected by the

1801 | Analysis of Lobbying and Negotiations of Sri Lanka With China Regarding The

Acquisition of Hambantota Port In 2017

researcher and used to complete the

research data needs. According to Saryono

(2010), qualitative research methods are

research that has the function to

investigate, describe, explain, and discover

the qualities or features of social influence,

which aims to understand the object under

study according to the researcher's

perspective. The level of analysis of this

research is the country level, where Sri

Lanka and China are the objects of this

research. This study uses data through

online data analysis and document analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. China-Sri Lanka Bilateral Relations

Since the beginning of Sri Lanka's

independence, bilateral relations between

China and Sri Lanka have been established.

China and Sri Lanka had diplomatic

relations officially established in 1957,

which was marked by the presence of the

Chinese embassy in Sri Lanka precisely in

Kolomba, as well as the Sri Lankan embassy

in Beijing. But previously the two countries

had signed the Sino-Lankan Rice and

Rubber Pact which is said to be a new

beginning in bilateral relations in the

economic and trade fields of China and Sri

Lanka. (Erina, 2022)(Aditriya, 2020)The

manifestation of the closeness between the

two countries was when Sri Lanka gave

recognition to One China regarding China's

seat at the United Nations. When the civil

war of the Tamil nationalism movement in

the late 1970s occurred, there were many

human rights violations. The international

community through the UN Security

Council and also the UN Human Rights

Council pressured the Sri Lankan

government firmly. The United States has

also withheld cooperation and sales of

military equipment to Sri Lanka. This

resulted in a diplomatic vacuum, and this

opportunity was taken by China by

supporting the Sri Lankan government and

providing military equipment. (Son,

Prameswari, &; Fasisaka)

The increasingly strong relations

between the two countries were marked by

the achievement of the China-Sri Lanka All-

Around Cooperation Partnership of Sincere

Mutual Support and Ever-Lasting

Friendship until it was upgraded to the

Strategic Cooperative Partnership. Then,

the relationship between the two countries

was well established until the two countries

trusted each other to work together. Of

course, the cooperation aims to achieve

common goals. When Sri Lanka wants to

advance its country by carrying out

infrastructure development but needs large

financial or economic assistance, there

China is present as an investor who

certainly has a personal goal or national

interest, namely reviving the Silk Road and

making the Maritime Silk Road Initiative.

given the position of Sri Lankan ports are

strategic and has high economic

value.(Shabbir, 2017)

Source:https://www.hindustantimes.com/a

nalysis/china-s-investment-in-mahinda-

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rajapaksa-has-backfired/story-

UHEzLXEXqZsY7BDQgVt0YK.html

B. Sri Lanka and China's National Interest in

Hambantota Port Cooperation

Sri Lanka especially in the city of

Hambantota has quite a lot of natural

resources and the Hambantota route is

quite a busy route, hence Sri Lanka needs a

port to drive the country's economy.

Through these ports, Sri Lanka can easily

carry out export and import activities. But

of course, it requires large funds for port

construction, Sri Lanka which has economic

problems in its country needs financial

assistance from large countries that have

rapidly developing economies. Therefore,

China offered financial assistance in the

form of loans to Sri Lanka, behind the offer

there is certainly a national interest that

China has (Nurjayanti, 2020).

China lends funds because it has its

own National Interests. With Hambantota

Port, China can realize its policy, namely the

Belt and Road Initiative in the Asian region.

The port acts as a stopover route for ships

to transport and distribute export-import

commodities to China because the port is

in China's maritime trade route. This

cooperation is an effort made by China to

succeed in the initiation of the modern silk

road (String of Pearls) through One Belt

One Road (OBOR) which is now known as

the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The Belt

and Road Initiative (BRI) is divided into two

interconnected lines. First, the Silk Road

Economic Belt (connecting China with

Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the

Middle East, Eastern Europe, Western

Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, and the

Persian Gulf. Second, the 21st(Nurjayanti,

2020) Maritime Silm Road-sea route

(connecting China with Europe, South Asia,

the Middle East, and Africa through the

South China Sea, Indian Ocean, and South

Pacific Ocean) (Aditriya, 2020).

Source: https://aseannewstoday.com/2019/fake-news-sri-lanka-loses-port-over-chinese-bri-

debt/

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DOI: 10.59141/jrssem.v2i08.405 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem

C. China-Sri Lanka cooperation to build

Hambantota Port

China-Sri Lanka bilateral relations

remained established and strengthened

during the reign of Mahinda Rajapaksa until

it reached cooperation in the development

of the Hambantota Port. Sri Lanka and

China cooperate in the economic sector

only. Previously Sri Lanka and China had

collaborated on the construction of roads

to airports, then the cooperation continued

with the creation of a port. Cooperation in

the development of this port has been

carried out since 2007 (Moramudali, 2019).

Initially, Hambantota was just a busy route

in Sri Lanka's southern province, until Mr.

Rajapaksa had the desire to build a port on

this route. However, the construction of the

port requires large funds.

The Sri Lankan government is lobbying

for aid for development funds. Previously,

the Sri Lankan government lobbied the

Indian state but received a refusal, until

finally Sri Lanka received loan assistance

from China. China, which has good

bilateral relations with Sri Lanka, offered

loan assistance to build the port until

Hambantota Port located in Hambantota

city has been completed and opened in

2010. Hambantota Port is located in a

strategic place because it is directly facing

the Indian Ocean (Nurjayanti, 2020). Having

the original name Megampura Mahinda

Rajapaksa Port, Hambantota Port is a

project nearby of the Rajapaksa

government to China.

China has provided a loan of 1.12

billion USD (phases one and two) for this

project (Aditriya, 2020). From foreign loans

originating from China, there are several

developments of Hambantota Port:

1. First, the construction of Hambantota

Port began in January 2008 to December

2011 (Aditriya, 2020). The funds held are

85% (out of 361 million USD) from China

through Exim Bank and 15% (Sembiring,

2022) from Sri Lanka through the Sri Lanka

Port Authority (loan interest rate of 2%).

2. Second, the construction of Hambantota

Port took place from September 2012 to

April 2015. (Aditriya, 2020) The funding is

fully covered by China in three tranches and

the estimated total cost is 809 million USD.

(loan interest rate of 6.3%)

Both phases of Hambantota Port

construction are carried out by China

Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC)

which is the contractor, while Sri Lanka Port

Authority (SLPA) is the project supervisor.

China is the fourth largest lender to Sri

Lanka, with the first largest borrowers being

international financial markets, the second

being the Asian Development Bank (ADB),

and the third being Japan(Amalia H. A.,

2022).

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DOI: 10.59141/jrssem.v2i08.405 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem

Foto: Department of External Resources, Sri Lanka

Source : https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20220110145105-4-306044/belajar-dari-sri-

lanka-ri-perlu-waspada-utang-china

3. Third, this last stage of development

lasted from 2015 to the present.

The idea of building Hambantota port

has been around since 1980, but there has

been no serious government or political

leader to realize it. The reign of Mahinda

Rajapaksa in 2005 was only realized of

course with support from China.

Hambantota Port has been officially

opened and operated for trade transit since

June 2012 (Aditriya, 2020).

One of China's policies that we know of

is the Belt and Road Initiative. Through this

policy, China provides a lot of assistance to

countries targeted by China to help expand

its hegemony and trade routes. Therefore,

China is one of the countries that provide

many loans to other countries, including

countries on the Asian continent, one of

which is Sri Lanka.

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DOI: 10.59141/jrssem.v2i08.405 https://jrssem.publikasiindonesia.id/index.php/jrssem

Source : https://news.detik.com/bbc-world/d-5887719/apakah-china-membebani-negara-

miskin-dengan-utang-sulit-dibayar

D. China-Sri Lanka Conflict and

Negotiations,and Collective Agreement

Results

In the beginning cooperation for the

development of Hambantota Port seemed

to go well and even smoothly with the spirit

of each country to achieve their respective

national interests. Until a general problem

arises, when the debtor country in this case

Sri Lanka is unable to pay its debt to China

at the agreed time (due) together. In 2007,

the then President of Sri Lanka, Mahinda

Rajapaksa, signed 8 MoUs of bilateral

agreements with the Chinese government,

out of these 8 MoUs, China is increasingly

seen as playing an important role in the

progress of development in Sri Lanka,

especially in terms of providing loan funds

for development. After that, in 2010 China

re-signed cooperation in the Framework,

namely the Hambantota Port development

project.

Conflict/ The Beginning of Problems

Sri Lanka is having difficulty repaying

its foreign debt. Starting with Hambantota

Port from its first operation, June 2012 until

six years of operation, it suffered losses (the

profits obtained were not comparable to

the cost of the construction port).

Hambantota Port has shown no significant

development as if it has failed to attract

ships for transit. Throughout 2012,

Hambantota Port attracted only 34 ships

out of tens of thousands of ships passing

along one of the busiest shipping lanes in

the world. This has resulted in Sri Lanka

experiencing difficulties in servicing its

external debt. Sri Lanka's debt accounts for

95.4% of GDP or US$58.3 billion, and the

country's entire revenue is used to service

Tessalonica Manuputty

Agung Yudhistira Nugroho

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debt. Then, Sri Lanka's poor national

economic condition from the past, namely

the accumulation of large amounts of

government debt and the exposure of the

problems of the previous government

which tapped state-owned enterprises to

make additional loans of unknown

amounts by Sri Lanka's finance ministry,

estimated at $9.5 billion.

Sri Lanka's government debt buildup

came during the ambitious reign of

Mahinda Rajapaksa but saw Sri Lanka's

government debt triple and foreign debt

double fold. Efforts made by former

president Mahinda Rajapaksa are known to

be expensive, for example, building a new

city in the middle of the forest with a value

of billions of dollars, building one of the

highways most expensive, moving stones

from the port at Hambantota for $42

million, and other expensive endeavors

(Shepard, 2016). Sri Lanka suffered losses

and was unable to pay its debts on time.

This is a dilemma, considering that Sri

Lanka has a lot of debt as mentioned

above, on the other hand, Sri Lanka still

must pay funds port construction loans to

China and port operating funds to keep

operating (Aditiasari, 2017).

Sri Lankan Government Negotiates to

Resolve Conflict

The loss and desperate situation to pay

the debt made Sri Lanka take steps to ease

the debt payment. China first lent its funds

in 2008. Sri Lanka's loan agreement to

China is medium-term debt, where

medium-term debt has a repayment

maturity period of 15 years, meaning 2023

(Aditriya, 2020). However, given Sri Lanka's

economic condition and the absence of

significant benefits from Hambantota Port,

Hambantota Port must continue to operate

to attract ships for transit as well as require

port maintenance costs and continued

construction of phase three. Sri Lanka is

offering debt-for-equity swaps to China

through its Prime Minister, Ranil

Wickremesinghe (Aditiasari, 2017).

In 2017, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil

Wickremesinghe submitted a proposal to

the Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yi

Xianliang on an offer to exchange debt for

assets. Sri Lanka offers management rights

to Sri Lanka's largest infrastructure,

including Mattala International Airport and

Hambantota Port to China. Reporting to

Colombo's Sunday Times, China responded

by rejecting the offering(Aditiasari, 2017).

The rejection from China is not without

reason, some of the reasons for rejection

are :

- From the beginning of the operation of

Hambantota Port in 2010 to 2016, suffered

a large loss of around 300 million USD.

Even the Sri Lanka Census and Statistics

Department in 2017 stated that

Hambantota Port had the worst

performance compared to 3 other ports in

Sri Lanka, namely Colombo Port, Galle Port,

and Trincomalee Port. The reason is,

Hambantota Port experienced a decrease in

the number of annual ship visits from 2014

to 2016. The number of ship visits in 201

was 335, experienced a decrease in 2015

which was 295 ships, and experienced

another decrease in 2016 which was 281

ships.

- Quoted by The Sunday Times on Tuesday,

January 10, 2017. Yi Xianling stated: "We

are not interested. Judging from the law in

China, this is not possible"(Sunday Times,

2016).

1807 | Analysis of Lobbying and Negotiations of Sri Lanka With China Regarding The

Acquisition of Hambantota Port In 2017

But the Sri Lankan side remained

persistent in bidding and negotiations, until

an international meeting, namely the

Committee on Economic Management

(CCEM) of Sri Lankan Prime Minister

Wickremesinghe still tried to convince

China of debt exchange with Hambantota

Port assets. The Chinese felt that Sri Lanka's

offer was less favorable, so China requested

an additional agreement of 15,000 acres of

land around the port. The negotiation

process, which was initially tense because

the results tended to be rejected, then

softened as China showed its commitment

to keep Sri Lanka out of its economic

problems nationally by recommending

leading companies to cooperate with

Mattala Airport and Hambantota Port as

well as several other companies in the

Hambantota region.

Results of Negotiations between China and

Sri Lanka

As a result of Sri Lanka and China's

negotiations, the two countries have

agreed on the acquisition of a majority

stake in Hambantota Port. In mid-2017

China began the results of joint

negotiations, namely the acquisition of

85% of Hambantota Port shares. China

with China Merchants Port Holdings and Sri

Lanka with Sri Lanka Ports Authority

agreed, by signing the Concession

Agreement on July 25, 2017, and also with

the Sri Lankan Ministry of Ports and

Shipping and Hambantota International

Port Group and Hambantota Port Services

Company. The agreement between China

and Sri Lanka on acquisitions will last for 99

years. Through this acquisition, China has

a large share in managing, running, and

developing Hambantota Port, but

according to the agreement, 1.1 billion USD

is needed to own 85% of Hambantota Port

shares (Sirilal & Aneez, 2017).

CONCLUSIONS

China built a project called OBOR (One

Belt One Road) which is now known as the

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the

efforts to build a New Silk Road in this

world. The purpose of this project is how to

make Chinese territory can be connected

with strategic areas outside China, by land

and sea. The BRI project itself is one of

them passing through Sri Lankan territory.

Sri Lanka is a country on the South Asian

continent to be very strategic in China's

view to establish China's position as the

largest trading partner. Relations between

the two countries have also been going on

since several centuries ago, in the field of

trade. Sri Lanka's bilateral agreements with

its neighbors also offer opportunities for

trade and investment cooperation in

industrialized markets. Sri Lanka initially

needed funds for the construction of the

Hambantota port to build its economy

which was beginning to ebb and flow.

Hambantota itself has quite a lot of natural

resources and will later be able to make the

investment growth of these two countries

will develop very well.

Hambantota Port has received

investment from China amounting to 2

billion US dollars in the context of

developing the construction of the Port

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Agung Yudhistira Nugroho

| 1808

project. The loan provided by the Chinese

right pi does not seem to have gone

through sufficient and in-depth study and

consideration regarding future payment

options and steps. Sri Lanka's inability to

cope with this can be seen in the

constraints contained in the financing of

port maintenance which is fairly large and

their inability to pay interest which leads to

the creation of opportunities for them to

fall into a very serious "Utang Trap". Then

Sri Lanka negotiated to exchange debt for

assets that Sri Lanka had to China, after

reaching a mutual agreement, then in the

end China took over the port of

Hambantota for 99 years with an 85% stake,

due to which China has the right to build,

operate and even repair the port.

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finance.detik.com:

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lanka-tawarkan-china-utang-

dibayar-pakai-bandara

Aditriya, A. (2020). Efforts to settle Sri

Lanka's foreign debt against China

in cooperation in the development

of Hambantota Port. eJournal of

International Relations, Vol 8, No. 1

(ISSN: 2477-2623), 178.

Amalia. (2016). Foreign Policy of the

People's Republic of China in the

South Asian Region and Its Impact

in the Political and Military Fields.

Thesis, Faculty of Social and Political

Sciences.

Amalia, H. A. (2022, January 10). Rajapaksa

asks China to restructure debt

payments. Retrieved from

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