A Tale of Two States under the Dragon’s Gaze: Sri Lanka and the Maldives in Beijing’s Indian Ocean Strategy

The ongoing growth of Chinese naval presence in Indian Ocean and PRC’s rapport with Maldives and Sri Lanka denote the importance of Indian Ocean to the Chinese. This article is an attempt to understand how China’s own set of rules lying beyond the rule-based international order help to penetrate the weak and fragile states. Seen from the perspective of the contemporary worldview, China’s rivalry with the existing norms prevailing in the liberal international order is similar to a clash between different worldviews, where some try to commit to the ideals espoused by the Atlantic Charter, such as self-government, economic prosperity, free trade, and the preservation of global goods, while others challenge its legitimacy. China’s abhorrence to the Western dominant international order reflects its own world view that differs from the West. This article seeks to examine China’s nuanced maritime policy towards the Indian Ocean and Beijing’s attempts to exploit the weaker states in the region. While examining these factors, this article aptly analyses China’s threat perception which leads Beijing to galvanize its security implications. Also, the results emerging from this paper will elucidate on how small states like Sri Lanka and the Maldives are likely to become the phony states in the security cauldron of South Asia.