Walking the neutrality tightrope

It’s one thing to proclaim that Sri Lanka stands neutral in the face of an escalating conflict centred on the Middle East and the Gulf States, but in practice, it’s a diplomatic tightrope that’s hard to tread. 

Especially when Sri Lanka has been drawn directly into the conflict since a US submarine sank an Iranian vessel off the seas of Galle, in an area which is in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone on 4 March. Close to 100 Iranian soldiers were killed, while the Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force rescued around 32 of the survivors from the sunken ship. Subsequently, the Government also facilitated more than 200 sailors to be brought to shore from another Iranian ship, potentially saving their lives had they remained stranded at sea.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has so far made public the turn of events surrounding the three Iranian ships by addressing two press conferences as well as Parliament. He has been consistent in his stance that the three Iranian ships, which were in the region to attend a naval exercise hosted by India between 15 and 25 February in the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, had on 26 February sought permission to visit Sri Lanka in mid-March on a friendly visit, and while the matter was under consideration, one of the ships was torpedoed. India subsequently made it public that a similar request had been made to them by Iran on 27 February, but only one ship headed to India and the other two remained in Sri Lanka’s EEZ.

The matter, however, has not ended with the Government’s version of events. 

On Monday, the Iranian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alireza Delkhosh, told reporters at a press briefing that the Iranian warship attacked by the US earlier this month was sailing at the invitation of the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy to Sri Lanka. This contradicts the Government’s claim that it was the Iranians who sought permission to visit Colombo and that there had been no invitation from Sri Lanka. The Government has so far refused to get drawn into a debate on the matter, with Cabinet Spokesman Minister Nalinda Jayatissa diplomatically sidestepping questions related to the issue at the weekly press briefing.

On top of the confusion over the Iranian ships matter, last Friday when the President addressed Parliament, he disclosed some new information. He said that the Government had turned down a request from the United States to land two warfare aircraft at Mattala International Airport at the same time it refused a request from Iran for three of its navy ships to visit Sri Lanka on 9 and 13 March. There has been no comment from the US side on this so far, but the presence in Sri Lanka of US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia Sergio Gor last week for high-level engagements focused on advancing cooperation in the Indian Ocean region indicates growing US interest in the region.

The US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Elbridge Colby arrived in India on Tuesday for talks with senior officials there to advance defence ties. Already several senior US military officials have been visiting both countries, and while the Government can claim it is taking a neutral stance, it is clear that Sri Lanka is very much a part of the US-India military alignment.

The ongoing conflict is now in its fourth week and the Government, while facing challenges on multiple fronts brought on by the conflict, also has the task of responding to requests from Iran for the repatriation of its personnel here. Maintaining even a semblance of neutrality in the current scenario is a major challenge. The coming days will demonstrate how skilfully the Government handles the situation.