Thucydidian reality in Sri Lanka: Punsara Amarasinghe comments on the August 2022 visit of the Chinese satellite tracking vessel Yuan Wang 5 to the port of Hambantota.

• Author: Amarasinghe, Punsara

The small state dilemma is a complex discourse in the realm of international relations, dating back to the classical era of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, whose seminal work The History of Peloponnesian War has been regarded as the first illustration of a realist outlook toward inter-state relations. The most famous passage in that work, which is known as the 'Melian dialogue', epitomises the genesis of the realist point of view in international relations, where a group of islanders from Melos argued by virtue of the law of nations that they had the right to remain neutral in the conflict between Athens and Sparta. This contention was unpalatable for Athenians as they believed their supremacy should be honoured by the weak city-states. While scornfully ignoring the Melian plea to remain neutral in the war, Athens emphasised that Melos should consider who they were and what they possessed. In the speech delivered by Athenian envoys before the Melian delegation, the Athenian delegate stated that

we hope that you, instead of thinking to influence us by saying that you did not join the Lacedaemonians ... or that you have done us no wrong, will aim at what is feasible ... since you know as well as we do that right, as the world goes, is only in the question between equals in power, while the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must. Those prophetic words in the Melian dialogue extend their significance to understanding the current geo-political trap challenging the sovereignty of Sri Lanka. The island nation with its unique significance as a geopolitical hub in the Indian ocean is currently undergoing its worst economic calamity since its independence from the British in 1947. The political instability following the economic crisis has deepened Sri Lanka's socio-political state of limbo.

Against this background, the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5, a Chinese satellite tracking vessel, at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka created a tense situation. The Sri Lankan government found itself in a diplomatic quandary. The Sri Lankan foreign ministry's initial response to the Chinese request for the visit was affected by the critical concern displayed by India and the United States. In seeking a postponement of the visit, it reaffirmed 'the enduring friendship and excellent relations between Sri Lanka and China'. Both in New Delhi and Washington, security concerns were paramount; they feared that the Yuan Wang 5 would be used for...