In the shadow of Admiral Zheng: Punsara Amarasinghe points to the deep roots of current Chinese maritime ambitions in Indian Ocean, as reflected in Sri Lanka's predicament.

• Author: Amarasinghe, Punsara

The pandemonium arising from high inflation, civil disorder and the Rajapaksa ruling family's fall from grace in Sri Lanka last year seemed to be the nemesis of China's presence in the island nation. Chinese involvement, often viewed as a wanton effort of predatory imperialism, was partially responsible for the financial impoverishment of a sovereign nation. It was against this backdrop that some Western pundits forecast that China would lose its grip over Sri Lanka following the politico-economic hullaballoo that encompassed the country in 2022. Yet the truth now hiding in plain sight is that China's general loss of ostensible influence in Sri Lanka will not undermine its growing influence in the Indian Ocean, regardless of India's orbit.

It should be borne in mind that modern Chinese strategists' zest for maritime power reflects views espoused by the pre-eminent US military strategist of the 19th century, Alfred Thayer Mahan; his contention that supremacy of the seas was the basis of international power was a celebrated concept long before the United States rose to global leadership. In his seminal work Monsoon: The Indian Ocean and the Future of American Power (2010), Robert Kaplan refers to Mahan as the key strategic inspirer for Chinese naval strategy.

Whether this is true or false, it is worth noting that China's naval engagement in the Indian Ocean or Sri Lanka has historical roots dating back to the era before the European advent in South Asia in the 16th century. Chinese sea power flourished during the Song and Ming dynasties, from the late 10th to the early 15th centuries, which culminated in the celebrated voyages of the eunuch admiral Zheng He. China's naval approach was decisively different from that of the European intruders, who sought to establish a permanent military presence in the countries they explored in the 16th century. On the contrary, imperial China promoted the notion of tianxia (everything under heaven) and appealed to the nations to join in building alliances or tributary systems. But this was not a process that was always peaceful, as Ming China's war with the Kotte kingdom in Sri Lanka in the late 15th century, a subtle display of Chinese military intervention in needed circumstances, demonstrated.

The benign efforts that China tends to manifest in its naval strategy today resemble China's own historical naval voyages under the Ming dynasty. It is not mere hyperbolic rhetoric to suggest that Chinese influence...