COLOMBO: Sri Lanka, an island, has a history of not being left to itself, as islands (generally) are supposed to be. A struggling third world country, which has seen a civil war for nearly twenty years, Sri Lanka and its troubled current peace process are of much interest to the west, triggering off western altruistic motives. This was recently proved in the form of 3 billion dollars for the post-tsunami reconstruction work.

Two main reasons are clear in analysing why this is so.

Reason one ; the strategic location of Sri Lanka (at a strategic point in the Indian Ocean, covering 2,850,000 sq miles, touching the shores of the Indian subcontinent in the North; Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia in the East; Antarctica in the South; and East Africa in the West)

Reason two ; Sri Lanka’s natural asset – the eastern Trincomalee harbour.

These are the reasons why the big neighbour, India is keen to keep an ever watchful eye over its tiny tear drop (or pearl) shaped neighbour Sri Lanka and the politics that embroil this island nation.

This is clearly defined in ‘Strategic Significance of Sri Lanka’ by Ramesh Somasundaram of Deakin University, a Sri Lankan researcher specializing in Cultural Heritage Studies.

Published last month by Stamford Lake publishers, the book explains Lanka’s strategic importance since the 17th century which had the Portuguese, Dutch, French, British, and the Indians vying for a ‘control of sorts’ of the country in general and Trincomalee in particular.

Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning in the Indian ocean and its harbour in eastern Trincomalee continues to be of immense international interest, especially to foreign super powers. As the author reminds us, Trincomalee has immense significance in this day and age of nuclear weaponry and nuclear submarine-based missile systems.

Somasundaram notes that given the depth of the harbour, nuclear submarines are able to dive low within the inner harbour to effectively avoid radar detection.

The Trincomalee harbour is placed in a strategic point near the Bay of Bengal and is one of Sri Lanka’s “most valuable assets”.

In ‘The strategic significance of Sri Lanka’, it is shown how international diplomatic relations between the indigenous Kandyan kingdom and the European powers in the 18th and 19th centuries had been based on who will use Trincolmalee harbour. The author explains the British-French rivalry for acquiring Trincomalee as their prime objective and highlights the post-war/post-independence diplomatic relations of the then Ceylon government.

“They both wanted to secure it as a naval base and thereby consolidate their hold over India. For the Kandyan kings (whose Kingdom extended to the eastern province) Trincomalee harbour and its hinterland was vital for external relations (including trade and commerce)”, explains Somasundaram in his explanation of British – French rivalry for acquiring Trincomalee.

With regard to India’s interest in Sri Lanka the author quotes strategist Ramachandra Rao:

“India has very real interest in ensuring that no hostile power should establish itself in Ceylon. Foreign airstrips and naval control of Trincomalee would unbearably expose the Indian peninsula to air and sea bombardment and assault along her extensive coasts. Ceylon is within Indian defence area, at the very heart centre of the Indian ocean defence”.

This assertion in ‘Strategic Significance of Sri Lanka’, comes at a time when India had displayed a keenness in arriving at a defence pact with Sri Lanka, understandably to counter any aerial attacks that might be made by the LTTE, a fear that had gripped India as well as other nations after it was confirmed early this year that the LTTE had been maintaining a airstrip in Iranamadu in northern Killinochchi where it runs its de facto state.

If one looks at the interest shown in Sri Lanka by other western giants, notably America, it is clear, especially after analyzing the points stated in Somasundaram’s book that it is the islands strategic location that makes super powers show an undue interest in this country and its people.

Sri Lanka, with its natural harbour of Trincomalee, is at a strategic point in the whole region, having global significance in the modern age, Somasundaram notes. The Trincomalee harbour it is to be noted is securely enclosed by massive rocks and surrounded by islets ensuring complete security for fleets.