குட்டிமணி, தங்கத்துரை கைது
டொனமோர்
இஸ்ரேல், வங்கதேசம் போல் `தமிழ் ஈழத் தளம்` அமைய இந்தியா இலங்கையில் தலையிட வேண்டும்- வை.கோ
தினக்குரல் Digital News Team 2021-06-10
இலங்கையின் சீனச் சார்பு மற்றும் அமெரிக்க நாடாளுமன்றத் தீர்மானம்;
தமிழ் ஈழம் அமைய பொது வாக்கு பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடிக்கு, வைகோ கடிதம்
உலக வரைபடத்தில் இஸ்ரேல் என்ற நாட்டை யூதர்கள் ஆக்கியது போல் வங்கதேசம் என்ற நாட்டை இந்தியா ஆக்கியது போல் தமிழ் ஈழம் என்ற நாட்டை அமைப்பதற்கு ஐ.நா. மன்றத்தின் மேற் பார்வையில் உலகம் முழுமையும் பல நாடுகளில் பரவி வாழ்கின்ற ஈழத்தமிழர்களிடம் பொது வாக்குப்பதிவு நடத்துவதற்கான முயற்சிகளை இந்திய ஒன்றிய அரசு மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும் என வைகோ வேண்டுகோள் விடுத்துள்ளார்.
இந்திய பிரதமருக்கு எழுதியுள்ள கடிதத்தில் அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்துள்ளதாவது,
தெற்கு ஆசியாவில், இந்தியப் பெருங்கடலில், இந்தியாவின் ஆளுமையை நிலைநிறுத்துவதற்கு, தமிழ் ஈழம் அமைந்தாக வேண்டிய தேவை ஏற்பட்டு இருக்கின்றது.
அதற்கான சூழ்நிலைகளை, தங்களின் கவனத்திற்குக் கொண்டு வர விழைகின்றேன்.
கடந்த காலங்களில், இந்தியாவின் நம்பிக்கைக்கு உரிய நாடாக இலங்கை இருந்தது இல்லை. அண்டை நாடு என்கின்ற முறையில், இந்தியா இலங்கைக்குக் கூடுதல் முன்னுரிமை வழங்கினாலும் கூட, இக்கட்டான வேளைகளில், அவர்கள் இந்தியாவின் காலை வாரி விடுகின்றார்கள். தாங்கள் ஒரு சீனச் சார்பு நாடு என்பதை, அவர்கள் பலமுறை எடுத்துக் காட்டி இருக்கின்றார்கள்.
மகிந்த இராஜபக்சே, இலங்கைக் குடி அரசின் தலைவராகப் பொறுப்பு ஏற்பதற்கு, இந்தியா மறைமுக ஆதரவு அளித்தது. ஆட்சிப் பொறுப்பு ஏற்ற அவர், அம்பாந்தோட்டை துறைமுகத்தில், சீன நீர்மூழ்கிக் கப்பல் நுழைய ஒப்புதல் வழங்கினார். இந்தியப் பெருங்கடலில், முதன் முறையாக, சீன நீர்மூழ்கிக் கப்பல் நுழைந்தது. அவருக்கு அடுத்து ஆட்சிப் பொறுப்பு ஏற்ற மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேனா, மற்றொரு சீன நீர்மூழ்கிக் கப்பலை, அம்பாந்தோட்டை துறைமுகத்திற்குள் நுழைய விட்டார். இலங்கைக்கு அளவுக்கு அதிகமான கடன் கொடுத்து, 99 ஆண்டுகள் குத்தகை என்ற பெயரில், அம்பாந்தோட்டை துறை முகத்தை சீனா கைப்பற்றி விட்டது.
Though China and Bangladesh shared an adversarial relationship during the latter’s independence movement and immediately after that, the relationship has undergone a tremendous transformation to the extent that China is now considered by many in Bangladesh as an ‘all-weather friend’. They established diplomatic ties in 1976; it was defence ties that was an important area of their relationship, which led to further expansion of ties.
Bilateral trade between China and Bangladesh is heavily tilted towards China. The trade deficit between them stood at US $16.27 billion in 2019, which has increased 16-fold in the last two decades. China forms the largest share in Bangladesh’s imports at 31.1 percent in 2019, more than double the imports from the next largest partner. Imports from China include a variety of items from textiles, machines, refined petroleum while exports to China consist mainly of textiles which form 70 percent of the total share.
Development cooperation forms an integral part of the partnership. It was only in recent years that the Chinese investment into Bangladesh has grown exponentially. Total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) stock has increased at a rate of 10.9 times between the end of 2011 and the end of 2019. Bangladesh received a net FDI of US $1.159 billion in FY19 from China, making it one of the largest recipients in South Asia. The energy sector has been the largest recipient of Chinese investment in recent years. China has implemented a number of projects in the power sector, consisting mostly of coal-based power plants. It has also built the single largest power plant in Bangladesh in a joint venture with Bangladesh, which will bear 30 percent of the total cost. At least 12 dual-fuel power plants are being planned, but so far only three 1,320 megawatt plants are near completion costing around US $ 4.5 billion. China is also investing in the green energy sector with several projects already in the works, including a proposal for a 310 megawatt solar power plant. Bangladesh has also set up a US $400 million joint venture with a Chinese company to build renewable energy projects of a total of 500 megawatts by 2023.
Another important strategic area in the power sector where China is working is the power grid. China is working on a Power Grid Network Strengthening project at an investment of US $1.32 billion and also an expansion and strengthening of the power system network, which is supposed to help in the intelligent operation of the power grid in Bangladesh with an investment of US $ 2.04 billion. Since India declined to be a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Chinese plans for building an oil pipeline from Bangladesh have not materialised. Despite this, China has a significant strategic presence in Bangladesh. In a deal in 2017, Chinese companies bought three natural gas fields in Bangladesh, which account for more than half of the total gas output of Bangladesh from Chevron. China is also partially financing and helping Bangladesh to build a 220 kilometre pipeline and a single mooring point, which will facilitate direct offloading of imported oil at the Chittagong refinery. It is from this point that the Chinese plan to carry oil to the storage plants in mainland China.
Besides the energy sector, infrastructure is one of the sectors where China has made significant investment. One of the most strategically important investments is in the ports of Bangladesh. China is financing and constructing the Payra Deep Sea Port project estimated to cost between US $11 billion and US $15 billion. The port is the third-largest port in the country and had started operating in 2016.
Presently, Chinese firms have been given contracts to construct two components of the project and in a recent letter, Bangladesh sought US $1.6 billion from China to construct the first phase of the seaport. In 2019, Bangladesh gave China access to two of its largest seaports—Chittagong and Mongla. China also signed a deal to develop the Mongla port. China expressed interest and was going to construct a deep sea port at Sonadia but it was later cancelled citing environmental concerns. One major project which has immense strategic implications for India is China’s offer to Bangladesh to manage and restore the Teesta river which flows from India. The plans include building embankments along the river near the Indian border and are estimated to cost US $1 billion, 85 percent of which will be provided by China as a loan. Chinese firms have also shown interest in constructing and operating the Dhaka-Chittagong High-Speed Rail Project. The massive Chinese outreach among other infrastructure projects include the construction of eight Bangladesh-China Friendship bridges, a sewage treatment plant, under river tunnel, economic zones, expansion of Sylhet airport, and various highways and rail links including the flagship Padma Bridge Rail Link Project at an estimated cost of US $ 3.3 billion, 85 percent of which is being funded by China.
China has pushed its way into other sectors of Bangladesh’s economy like the stock market and information technology amongst various others. The Chinese consortium of Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchange acquired a 25 percent stake in Bangladesh’s main stock exchange. Its bid was selected over the Indian bid, which was 56 percent less than the Chinese bid. The digital space is an important strategic space where China has invested significantly. Chinese giant, Alipay, obtained a 20 percent stake in bKash, which is the largest mobile financial service provider in Bangladesh. China is also building and financing the sixth largest data centre in Bangladesh and the first tier IV data centre in South Asia. China and Bangladesh have deep collaborative ties in the Information and Communications Technology sector. China has helped develop ‘Info-Sarker’ phase 2, which is a national infra network for the Bangladesh government and is also helping them develop phase 3 of this project by providing US $1 billion. Bangladesh also sought Chinese funds for its ‘Modernisation of Telecommunication Network for Digital Connectivity’ project which seeks to bridge the rural-urban divide in this field. It is in the same project where Chinese giant Huawei seeks to provide 5G technical support.
Defence cooperation is one of the significant pillars of the relationship between Bangladesh and China. In 2002, they signed the Defence Cooperation Agreement, which also includes defence production, making China the only country with a broad defence cooperation agreement with Bangladesh. China accounted for around 74 percent of Bangladesh’s arms imports between 2010– 2019. Bangladesh also forms 20 percent of China’s total arms imports between 2015–2019. China supplies a wide variety of military equipment from tanks, fighter jets, submarines, frigates, anti-ship missiles to the majority of small arms. China will be training and providing equipment to the Bangladesh military, according to a deal signed in 2014. China is also helping Bangladesh construct and set up its first submarine base, which will house Chinese-built submarines, having a variety of facilities like wharfs, barracks, ammunition depots, and repairing dock.
In recent times, Bangladesh has been doing quite well economically and it has a high growth rate which may propel it to the middle-income country target set by its Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, and has been seeking investments to facilitate this growth. It is here where China comes in, and Beijing has shown a willingness to fund projects which are important to Bangladesh. Some of these projects were rejected by Western financiers due to multiple reasons. China has also consistently shown keen interest in engaging with South Asian countries as it provides a backdoor to the Indian Ocean as well as helps to strategically constrain India, be it by giving 97 percent of Bangladesh’s goods tariff exemption when exported to China or through investments there. Bangladesh has been a buyer of Chinese arms because after its independence its army repatriated Pakistani soldiers who were familiar with the use of Chinese weapons, which led to the high demand for Chinese weapons. It was from here that the defence relationship developed.
One of the main concerns which were raised about these investments was that of Bangladesh falling into the same debt trap like Sri Lanka. But unlike Sri Lanka, the majority of the external debt Bangladesh owes is to multilateral financial institutions, and loans granted by China accounts for only 6 percent of its total debt, according to a lead economist from the World Bank. According to the Bangladesh government, it has an average time period of 31 years to pay off the loans with a grace period of 8 years, and it is confident of repaying even if the growth rate falls to 5 percent. In addition, there is also a difference in the Chinese style of functioning in Bangladesh and in other countries. China has gone for a partnership-based project implementation and also does not hold majority shares in most of the projects. So, the fear of Bangladesh falling into a debt trap looks unsubstantiated but it does not deny the fact that China’s influence and investments in the country have grown significantly in the past few years. Bangladesh is very aware of India’s security concerns and problems of over dependence on China. Bangladesh is trying to ride the fine line of balancing both these concerns. Despite the fact of increasing Chinese influence over the recent years, Bangladesh is among the least susceptible Indian neighbours to becoming overly dependent on China. That being said, this is a wake-up call for India to try and realise the full potential of its ties with Bangladesh and increase its economic and military ties besides the people-to-people ties.
A Singapore-flagged cargo ship, MV X-Press Pearl, caught fire on Colombo coast on May 20.WorldPress Trust of IndiaUpdated: May 30, 2021 by TaboolaSponsored LinksSponsored
By Thean Tamil Osai - June 4, 2021
Maritime Sicherheit„Total loss“ der „X-Press Pearl“ erwartet26. Mai 2021
By Sulochana Ramiah Mohan | Jun 4 2021
Efforts continue by marine experts, such as the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA) and Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), to mitigate the ocean and coastal pollution due to the fire and subsequent explosion of the X-Press Pearl cargo ship, which finally sank on Wednesday (3).
Initial reports have found no change in pH levels in the ocean and lagoon. “We are awaiting results on tests conducted on seabed species,” said State Minister of Fisheries, Kanchana Wijesekera, yesterday. He also said MEPA has formulated a strategic plan in case there is an oil spill from the sunken ship.
Booms and skimmers will be used around the vessel and strategic locations, and a spray will be used to disperse any potential oil slick. There are also contingency plans for full beach clean-ups, he tweeted. Meanwhile, Singapore's Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), yesterday, announced that it aims to launch a probe into the charred X-Press Pearl containers in the water, as it may cause an environmental disaster. The sunken vessel is currently sitting on the ocean floor at 22 mt depth with the aft left to be visible, 9.5 km off Colombo Port, in Dickovita beach area.
The NARA has been monitoring and conducting tests on marine resources and coastline around the country impacted by the Singapore-flagged ship that caught fire on 20 May. The Indian Coast Guard is also monitoring the situation of the shipwreck site. Currently, India’s Samudra-class hightech Pollution Control Vessel (PCV), Samudra Prahari is on standby.
The other Pollution Response Vessel, Vaibhav is also engaged in this mission. Vessel Vajira has returned to India and will be on standby if there is an emergency call, the Indian sources said. RV ‘Samudrika,' a research vessel from the NARA, operated by the Sri Lanka Navy Hydrographic Service (SLNHS) was deployed on 1 June to collect water and sediment samples from the sea area where the ship lies. It is revealed that there were 78 metric tonnes of plastic nurdles on board the ship.
The badly burnt ship, carrying charred containers on board was to be for about 30 mn to avoid further sea pollution on 2 June, but that plan was aborted as the ship began to sink. As the NARA and several other local authorities continue to coordinate a joint operation to mitigate the impact of the burnt ship to avoid further possible environmental damage, the Government, at the Media briefing, said certain factions are blaming it for the unfortunate incident.
“Some claimed the Qatari and Indian ports had denied entry and we had granted permission, which is incorrect. The ship entered both ports and then carried their cargo as well and sailed to Colombo,”
Minister of Ports Rohitha Abeygunawardena said many are using the fire to attack the Government to gain political mileage and they have to tell the public what really happened. He said the ship fire was an “unfortunate” incident and there was nothing political about it. “Some claimed the Qatari and Indian ports had denied entry and we had granted permission, which is incorrect. The ship entered both ports and then carried their cargo as well and sailed to Colombo,” he added.
SLPA Chairman Daya Ratnayake reiterated that the adverse weather delayed dousing the fire. Between 24 and 26 May over 39 hours, the cyclonic condition hampered the mission of dousing the fire, he added. The Harbour Master added that as said before the ship arrived and the usual permit was granted after seeing the manifest or the list of cargo that was to be unloaded in Colombo, transshipment cargo, and transit cargo. The Harbour Master reiterated that they were not informed by the Captain of any issues on the ship prior to entering Sri Lankan waters. He said there were no explosive chemicals mentioned in the list that needed approval from the Defence Ministry.
The ship had arrived at midnight on 19 May and on 20 May afternoon there was smoke and later a fire, he added. He also said while in the anchorage, the ship Captain sent some pictures of the leak in the cargo, while they were working on the arrangements to call the ship to the terminal. These are normal, he said, which any ports attend to.
It's part of the normal operation, where when such problems are brought up, it needs attention and service. Reworking is part of a normal operation, he added. He also added that they always follow the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code while loading and unloading the consignments.
கடலுணவுகளை உட்கொள்வதற்கு மக்கள் தயங்கத் தேவையில்லை என்று தெரிவித்துள்ள கடற்றொழில் அமைச்சர் டக்ளஸ் தேவானந்தா, கப்பல் விபத்துக்குள்ளான கொழும்பு மற்றும் கம்பஹா மாவட்ட கடல் பிரதேசத்தில் மீன்பிடி செயற்பாடுகளுக்கு தடை விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது எனவும் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
கொழும்பு துறைமுகதிற்கு இரசாயனப் பொருட்கள் அடங்கிய கொள்கலன்களை ஏற்றிவந்த சரக்கு கப்பலில் ஏற்பட்ட வெடி விபத்தின் காரணமாக உயிரினங்களுக்கு கேடு ஏற்படுத்தக்கூடிய இரசாயனப் பதார்த்தங்கள் கடலில் கலந்திருக்கக் கூடும் என்று அஞ்சப்படுகின்றது.
இதன்காரணமாகக் கடலுணவுகளை உண்பது தொடர்பாக மக்கள் மத்தியில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள அச்ச நிலையை நீக்கும் வகையில் கடற்றொழில் அமைச்சர் மேற்கண்டவாறு தெரிவித்தார்.
இதுதொடர்பாக அவர் மேலும் தெரிவித்திருப்பதாவது,
"இதுவரையில், குறித்த சம்பவத்தினால் கடல் வாழ் உயிரினங்களுக்கு பாதிப்புக்கள் ஏற்பட்டிருப்பதாக உறுதிப்படுத்தப்படவில்லை.
எவ்வாறெனினும், கப்பலில் விபத்து ஏற்பட்ட நேரத்தில் இருந்து சம்மந்தப்பட்ட கடல் பிரதேசத்தில் மீன்பிடி நடவடிக்கைகளுக்கு தடை விதிக்கப்படடுள்ளது.
அதேவேளை, கடலில் கலந்திருக்கக் கூடிய பாதார்த்தங்கள் தொடர்பாகவும், அவற்றினால் உருவாக்கக்கூடிய தாக்கங்கள் தொடர்பாகவும் கண்டறிவதற்கான ஆய்வுகளில் நாரா எனப்படும் தேசிய நீரியல்வள ஆராய்ச்சி நிறுவனம் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளது.
குறித்த ஆராய்ச்சி அறிக்கை கிடைக்கும் வரையில், சம்மந்தப்பட்ட கடல் பிரதேசத்தில் மீன்பிடிச் செயற்பாடுகளுக்கான தடையை இறுக்கமாக அமுல்ப்படுத்துமாறு அதிகாரிகளுக்கு அறிவுறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது.
அதேவேளை, போக்குவரத்து கட்டுப்பாடுகள் விதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள காலப் பகுதியிலும் நாடளாவிய ரீதியில் கடலுணவுசார் போக்குவரத்துகளை மேற்கொள்வதற்கு அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.
எனவே, பேலியகொட உட்பட நாடளாவிய ரீதியில் உள்ள சந்தைகளில் கொழும்பு மற்றும் கம்பஹா போன்ற சந்தேகத்திற்கிடமான கடல் பிரதேசங்களைத் தவிர்ந்த ஏனைய பிரதேசங்களில் இருந்து கொண்டு வரப்பட்ட கடலுணவுகளே விற்பனை செய்யப்படுகின்றன என்ற அடிப்படையில், அவற்றை உட்கொள்வது தொடர்பாக மக்கள் சந்தேகம் கொள்ளத் தேவையில்லை" என்று தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.
https://www.fisheries.gov.lk/web/
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