The crucial Aug. 17 parliamentary election in Sri Lanka - what increasingly looks like a "swing state" in the sharpening geopolitics of the Indian Ocean region -- was a close contest, giving no party an absolute majority and thus ensuring the next government will be coalition-based. But in one respect, the poll outcome was decisive: By thwarting pro-China ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa's political comeback bid, it represented a defeat for Chinese diplomacy.
Sri Lanka, located virtually at the center of the Indian Ocean, straddles some of the world's busiest sea lanes. Beijing has already pumped billions of dollars into this small, strategically located island-nation, seeking to turn it into a pivot of its "Maritime Silk Road" to Africa, the Middle East and Europe. The Maritime Silk Road is the new name for China's strategy of building a so-called "string of pearls" along vital Indian Ocean shipping routes. Sri Lanka -- where China has already built the large Hambantota port -- is central to the Maritime Silk Road initiative.
