Factum LK – Page 7

Factum Exclusive: Going QR – A quiet digital revolution in Sri Lanka

By Uditha Devapriya How one team came together to resolve Sri Lanka’s intractable fuel shortages On June 27, Sri Lankans woke up to some rather dismal news: the country had run out of fuel, and the government would limit stocks to essential services and industries for two weeks. The situation was so bad that the…

Factum Perspective: The Case for a Sri Lankan Maritime Strategy and a National Security Advisor

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Maritime Security, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 29, 2022721Views 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran The recent Sri Lanka-India-China triangular controversy over the docking of the Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5 at Hambantota port once again underscores the need to have a Sri Lankan National Maritime Strategy, a functioning National Security Council (NSC), and the appointment of a National Security Advisor (NSA). While Sri Lanka…

Factum Special Perspective: Taiwan – The Jewel of the West Pacific

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Health and Economic Cooperation, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 28, 20221KViews 0Likes 0Comments

By Kusum Wijetilleke Following the first Sino-Japanese war in 1895, the Qing Dynasty ceded the island of Taiwan, creating Imperial Japan’s first colony. The Japanese had planned to create what it called a “model” colony, to showcase the benefits of “Japanization.” Roads and infrastructure were developed, as well as sanitation systems and a network of…

Factum Perspective: The 21st Century, an Asian Century?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 21, 2022710Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kaif Sally For some 500 years, the West dominated the course of history. The burning question now on the horizon is, how will the 21st century become an Asian one? The notion of an Asian led global order is not recent. According to British economist Angus Maddison, China, India, and Japan alone had a…

Factum Special Perspective: Spy ships in our waters

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Health and Economic Cooperation, Maritime Security, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 18, 2022764Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Admiral Ravindra C. Wijegunaratne A Chinese spy ship docking at the Hambantota Port has become news in Sri Lanka and India. Yet very few seem to be asking as to what exactly a spy ship is. Simply put, it is a ship dedicated for reconnaissance missions, especially electronic eavesdropping. A considerable number of countries…

Factum Perspective: The war in Ukraine – Five months on

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 15, 2022821Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Rathindra Kuruwita The war in Ukraine is in its fifth month. After a few initial setbacks, due to underestimations of Ukrainian morale, the accuracy of Western signals intelligence, and Putin’s desire to minimize casualties, it seems that Russia is en route to achieving its objectives. There’s no point discussing why Russia is winning. Russia…

Factum Perspective: Ranilism in foreign policy

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 7, 2022769Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya When Russia invaded Ukraine in February this year, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s views on the resultant crisis differed somewhat from other MPs. Holding the one and only seat allocated to his party in Parliament, Wickremesinghe argued that Ukraine had antagonized Russia without seeking a peaceful diplomatic solution, and that the West played a…

Factum Perspective: The US agenda in Bangladesh

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsAugust 1, 2022672Views 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran The US agenda in developing countries seems for many a matter of raking up human rights issues, fostering civil unrest, and forcing weak governments to sign defense deals to counter China’s growing influence. In South Asia, this tactic is being applied in Bangladesh, a fiercely independent-minded country under the leadership of…

Factum Perspective: Will Sri Lanka slip up over Russian oil?

Health and Economic Cooperation, International Development, Regional GeopoliticsJuly 24, 2022820Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Lasanda Kurukulasuriya Sri Lanka’s outgoing president* Gotabaya Rajapaksa, in one of his last acts as head of state took a long-delayed step of talking to his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin on the phone, to request desperately needed fuel supplies on credit. According to a post on his Twitter account on Wednesday (6) he…

Factum Perspective: A radical change to fix the economy

Health and Economic CooperationJuly 17, 2022823Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Sunil Abhayawardhane Though Sri Lanka’s economic crisis blew open this year, its origins can be traced back to 1948. It was due more to what was not done than to what was done: put simply, the result of the country’s failure to industrialize, to shift to manufacturing. Orthodox “mainstream” economics Since independence, economic policy…

Factum Perspective: Anatomy of a protest

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJuly 11, 2022678Views 0Likes 0Comments

Courtesy of Dhananjaya Samarakoon By Uditha Devapriya Protest movements have historically been decided by economic factors, most prominently shortages, queues, and price hikes. The Arab Spring is an obvious case in point, but a better, more significant example would be the February Revolution in Russia, which was spurred by bread shortages. Left with nothing to lose,…

Factum Perspective: The economic aspect of foreign relations in South Asia

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsJuly 3, 2022760Views 0Likes 0Comments

All South Asian countries, not just Sri Lanka, are facing economic problems such as a shortage of essentials commodities, rising inflation, fall in the value of the local currency against the US dollar, and social and political unrest triggered by economic issues. Only the intensity varies. The roots of these domestic problems lie both in…