Wickremasinghe Rejects AUKUS Pact

An Item in rtcom.news, 19 September 2023, with the hëadline  “South Asian leader slams AUKUS pact” …..

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has condemned the AUKUS pact as an alliance designed to target China, calling it a “strategic misstep,” and insisting it will only divide Asia into rival camps and destabilize the region. Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Monday, Wickremesinghe took aim at AUKUS, which was formed by the US, UK, and Australia in 2021. “I don’t think it was needed,” he said. “I think it’s a strategic misstep. I think they made a mistake,” the president stated. “It is a military alliance moved against one country – China.”

Wickremesinghe went on to say that Sri Lanka wants no part in the growing tensions between Washington and Beijing, adding that his country would like to maintain good relations with both powers and does not wish to see Asia divided into competing blocs. 

“The next round of rivalry is going on. And that’s taking place in Asia. It’s the question of China versus the US, on how they are going to divide their region of influence in Asia,” he said. “Why are we getting pulled into it? It’s difficult for us to understand.”

The president also expressed concern about the stepped-up US military presence in the region in recent years – often labeled ‘freedom of navigation’ missions by American officials. “As far as the Indian Ocean is concerned, we don’t want any military activity,” he continued, saying most neighboring countries “will not want NATO anywhere close by.”

AUKUS was established in 2021 between Washington, Canberra, and London in part to facilitate the transfer of military technology among the three allies. Though officials from each country have maintained that the bloc is not a formal military alliance and is solely focused on technology sharing, Beijing has condemned the project, claiming it will only help to spread nuclear weapons around the globe and kick off an arms race in Asia.

“The three countries have gone further down the wrong and dangerous path for their own geopolitical self-interest, completely ignoring the concerns of the international community,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said earlier this year, adding that the AUKUS pact is based on a “Cold War mentality which will only motivate an arms race, damage the international nuclear nonproliferation regime, and harm regional stability and peace.”

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have steadily escalated in recent years, with former US President Donald Trump kicking off a low-level trade war with China which persists under his successor, Joe Biden.

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A SET of COMMENTS from “Fair Dinkum,” 20 September 2023

A = I am very surprised to see Ranil slaming Aukus and rightly so, as he says Aukus is designed to divide Asia.  He’s not as pro-American as one might think.

I wonder what prompted him to make these statements now?

BEIJING, CHINA – MAY 24: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin attends a regular press conference on May 24, 2022 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

I agree with the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin that the three Aukus countries have gone down the wrong track entirely.

It was good of Ranil to make these comments at the UN…………… Good to see Ranil will not allow the Anglo-American alliance to drive a wedge between Sri Lanka and China. He has made it very clear Sri Lanka won’t be a party to this silly alliance which has am outdated 19th century mentality.

Presumably he is there to speak at the SDGs 2030 Summit which meets with urgency to deal with the lagging progress on the 17 sustainable development goals. Only 7 years to go but only 12% towards meeting the targets.  Most world leaders are attending this very important summit which winds up today NY time.

B = It also makes it clear that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy differs from that of  India.  Modi will not make such a statement.

C = “As an afterthought, the above comments are put forward on the assumption that Ranil is genuine in his criticism of Aukus and in asserting Sri Lanka wants no part of it or NATO.  Nonetheless, it is odd that Ranil should make this statement at this particular time which is why it is important to unravel why he is doing so, and whether his words are genuine.  He is, after all, Sri Lanka’s pro-American president.”