Sri Lanka has signed a $1.1 USDbn (£837m) deal with China for the control and development of the southern deep-sea port of Hambantota.
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"The (Sri Lankan) government has given assurances that China will run only commercial operations from the port, on the main shipping route between Asia and Europe."
I imagine that a 27-year civil war* would bankrupt most nations.
"Sri Lanka says the deal will help it to get out of the debt trap. It borrowed billions of dollars from China to build roads, ports and airports to revive the economy after the end of the civil war in 2009."
China has been doing the same all over Africa too. It's called "colonialism" when the West does that. :)
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Dan
PS. Perhaps the artificial islands that China created in the SCS were always meant to protect an important portion of that planned maritime route.
linklink*
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goes beyond the straight line.
