There are limits to influence. And there is a certain power of asymmetry that big nations can ignore only at their peril. Aid and assistance can enhance a country’s power (and even win it accolades), but money cannot guarantee a veto when the exercise of sovereignty is concerned.
Only those unfamiliar with Sri Lankan approaches would have believed that $4 billion in Indian assistance to Colombo at a time of economic collapse would have prompted President Ranil Wickremesinghe to deny China a berth for its tracking vessel, Yuan Wang 5, at the port of Hambantota.
Even as Sri Lanka required (and obtained) immediate financial assistance from India, it needs to keep Beijing happy in order to be able to re-negotiate a debt restructuring arrangement with China.
