Regional Geopolitics – Page 6

Factum Perspective: Reviewing a year in crisis

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsApril 30, 20232KViews 7Likes 1Comment

Photo by Dhananjaya Samarakoon By Rumeth Jayasinghe On March 31, 2022, Sri Lankans stormed the streets and held demonstrations in front of the then President’s private residence in Mirihana, demanding his resignation. The protest remained largely peaceful, until police attacked the protestors with tear gas and water cannons. It marked the beginning of a series…

Factum Perspective: Rethinking US-Sri Lanka ties

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, History and Culture, Regional GeopoliticsApril 24, 2023773Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Uditha Devapriya During a visit to Sri Lanka on December 14, 2015, then US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Designate Thomas Shannon announced the launch of the first US-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue. The Dialogue, held in February the following year at Washington , sought to enhance cooperation between the two…

Factum Special Perspective: The troubled history of Sri Lanka – DPRK relations

History and Culture, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsApril 5, 2023665Views 0Likes 1Comment

By Chandani Kirinde The emphasis of the United Front (UF) government of Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike, which took office in May 1970, was to forge a new foreign policy that would move away from the pro-West policies of the UNP government, replacing them with a policy of non-alignment. While, theoretically, the focus was on non-alignment, in…

Factum Special Perspective: Safeguarding Sri Lanka

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsFebruary 22, 20231KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Read this article in Tamil: vidiyal.lk/post/--2816 By Vinod Moonesinghe Sri Lanka has, for 75 years, faced many internal and external threats, ranging from civil unrest, through insurgencies and military coup attempts, to overt acts of war or more subtle economic sabotage or sanctions by foreign powers. It has met them with varying degrees of…

Factum Perspective: The Chinese “spy balloon” saga

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsFebruary 19, 20231KViews 0Likes 1Comment

Read this article in Tamil: vidiyal.lk/post/--2821 By Rathindra Kuruwita On February 1, 2023, former editor of Billings Gazette Chase Doak and Billings Gazette photographer Larry Mayer snapped a large flying object over Billings, Montana. Doak had initially thought it was a UFO. The photographs were published in the Gazette, and were soon picked up…

Factum Perspective: Indo-Sri Lankan relations since independence – A checkered history

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Health and Economic Cooperation, History and Culture, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsFebruary 13, 20231KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Read this article in Tamil: vidiyal.lk/post/--2812 By P. K. Balachandran India-Sri Lanka relations are undoubtedly at their best now, thanks to India’s timely and generous assistance to its financially-beleaguered southern neighbor. But in the past 75 years or more, bilateral relations have been overwhelmingly troubled. Therefore, the million-dollar question now is: Will India’s help…

Factum Special Perspective: Victoria Nuland in Sri Lanka

Belt Road Initiative and Indo-Pacific Policy, Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsFebruary 1, 20231KViews 0Likes 0Comments

Read this article in Tamil: vidiyal.lk/post/--2805 By Uditha Devapriya US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland is on a tour in South Asia this week. From January 28 to February 3, she will be travelling to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, before flying to Qatar. Each of these visits will center…

Factum Perspective: Robert Clive and the taking of India

History and Culture, Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 30, 20231KViews 1Like 0Comments

By Vinod Moonesinghe A 2002 poll carried out by the BBC, accompanying its TV series “Great Britons”, found that most viewers fancied wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill as the “Greatest Briton”. His sole claim to fame lay in making stirring speeches when the British Empire stood on the threshold of defeat. Yet his pro-US policies…

Factum Perspective: Elections in Asia – A game-changer in a game-changing region

Regional GeopoliticsJanuary 9, 2023599Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Dr Ranga Kalansooriya Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev tweeted his predictions for 2023 last month. He noted that “all the largest stock markets and financial activity will leave the US and Europe and move to Asia.” At the outset, such claims may seem overstretched. In fact, however, this was hardly a new prediction.…

Factum Perspective: Buddhism in the Cold War

History and Culture, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 19, 20222KViews 0Likes 2Comments

By Chandani Kirinde What prompted the US government to put in place a “Buddhist policy” in Southeast Asia during the Cold War and how successful were these clandestine efforts at using a predominant religion of the region to counter the spread of communism? And did Sri Lanka play a role in shaping the US policy of co-opting Buddhists…

Factum Special Analysis: Emerging Markets and International Sovereign Bonds

Health and Economic Cooperation, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 15, 2022919Views 0Likes 0Comments

By Kasun Thilina Kariyawasam A total of USD 1,737.2 billion has been invested in the sovereign debt of emerging markets over the last 12 years. As a result of the high interest rates, emerging markets (EMs) paid 63% of the total interest on the bonds. Since 2020, Argentina, Zambia, and Sri Lanka have defaulted on…

Factum Perspective: Indonesia’s new draft criminal code

Peace and Conflict, Regional GeopoliticsDecember 5, 2022741Views 0Likes 0Comments

By P. K. Balachandran In a sharp turn towards authoritarianism and archaic religiosity, Indonesia’s parliament is expected to pass, later in December, a new Criminal Code that will extend the ambit of blasphemy, ban criticism of State Institutions and criminalize cohabitation and sexual relations outside wedlock. The proposed code, which smacks of Wahhabi Islam, is…