ISAS Working Papers

While Sri Lanka’s interests at its present juncture are mainly in economic development, the concerns of major powers in Sri Lanka are primarily strategic due to Sri Lanka’s proximity to major global shipping lanes. Since the change of government in January 2015, from the China-leaning Rajapaksa government to the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government espousing a nonaligned foreign policy, there has been a great increase in engagements between Sri Lanka and the United States of America, India and Japan. Engagements between Sri Lanka and China have also resumed and intensified in 2016. This paper describes the nature and breadth of Sri Lanka’s key engagements with major powers, to determine Sri Lanka’s foreign policy under the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government and assess its impact for Sri Lanka and on regional stability.