Bias first, balance later

India was chosen by the new Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the first destination for his foreign tour after officially taking office.

Looking at the outward appearance, this implies that the new Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake gives priority to India in foreign policy, quite different from his predecessors in recent decades.

Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake (left) stands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

For Sri Lanka as well as for the outside world , giving priority to India means giving priority to China no more. Dissanayake’s recent predecessors were all biased towards China, unwillingly and without daring, and they were biased towards China. The same is true of the new Sri Lankan president. Before leaving for India, Dissanayake had planned to visit China early next year. Bias first, balance later. The difference between Dissanayake and his predecessors is that they first biased towards India and then sought to balance China, while their predecessors did the opposite.

Mr. Dissanayake turned to the former because he saw that only New Delhi, not Beijing, could help Sri Lanka escape from the current very serious economic and social crisis. And although China is still very important to Sri Lanka, "distant water cannot put out a nearby fire."

For New Delhi, the change in Sri Lanka’s new president has presented a rare opportunity to woo and bind its neighbor into a strong partnership with India. Sri Lanka has become especially important to India because Nepal, Bangladesh and the Maldives are now leaning towards China first and balancing India later.

In practice, relations between countries are easy to bias and difficult to balance. Bias first and balance later are even more difficult.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thien-lech-truoc-can-bang-sau-185241219002830569.htm