On Tuesday, India and Sri Lanka struck a pact to build hybrid power plants on northern Sri Lankan islands, a deal considered as a strategic win in India’s competition with China for influence in the Indian Ocean. The signing was witnessed by India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Gamini Peiris, according to the Indian embassy. Due to security concerns, China stated in December that it was halting its own proposal to build power plants on three Sri Lankan islands. Sri Lanka, which is just over the tiny Palk Strait off India’s southern coast, is considered part of India’s sphere of influence. The island nation is strategically located in the middle of a major sea route that connects East and West and is ideal for Belt and Road Initiative.
