Strategic Affairs

Colombage sees Sri Lanka’s geostrategic position in South Asia as both a challenge and an opportunity.

But the Lankan government must weigh the pros and cons of the hidden agendas that come with international cooperation, says Lakna Paranamanna

But it looks like a temporary halt there being no word on the restoration of status quo ante on the Line of Actual control

China’s irredentist claims in the strategically located waterway and the Western powers’ pressing need for free navigation in that choke point seem irreconcilable.

In his book “Choices: Inside the making of India’s foreign policy”, India’s former National Security Advisor and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon recalls Foreign Minister Mukherjee's contribution to the execution of India's policy at that critical time.

Bilateral relations are on the upswing, but they cannot grow if they become inward looking and allow domestic issues to shape foreign policy, says veteran Indian diplomat Shivshankar Menon

He spells out how the Government will reconcile competing interests of China and India, and how Sri Lanka can have healthy ties with other countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Tokyo has, albeit unofficially, abandoned its policy of shunning weapons. It has begun to add strategic considerations in its foreign relations.

Indian Foreign Minister's talk with his Lankan counterpart and the Foreign Secretary's air dash to Dhaka for a pow wow with Prime Minister Hasina were meant to steady bilateral relations

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appears to have handpicked Adm.Prof. Jayanath Colombage for the Foreign Secretary’s post given his expertise in maritime security which is likely to be the centerpiece of Sri Lanka’s foreign policy in the coming years.