Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute

As an island caught in the cusp of global geopolitical change, the import ascribed to Sri Lanka and its foreign policy has markedly increased. A re-emerging ‘Asian Century’ bodes great benefits and challenges to all Sri Lankans and effectively harnessing this shift will assist us in reaching our collective goals and aspirations in the coming decades.   To not just comprehend, but to also make full use of this systemic power shift requires a clear understanding of international relations and its related dynamics. The North Korean nuclear dilemma, the purported rise of revisionist powers, the global economic recession, piracy in the Indian Ocean and terrorist attacks from Europe to South East Asia dominate the headlines of mainstream media today. All of us develop our own estimations and opinions concerning these problems as well as the impacts they may have on us as a nation. But how can we improve our awareness and apprehension of these topics? What avenues do S...

The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.   — Dag Hammarskjöld, second United Nations Secretary-General (1953 to 1961) Sometimes I have seen that many people are questioning about the effectiveness of the role of United Nations in a world where it has to deal with number of new issues which arises each & every day. When someone is questioning the existence & the effectiveness of United Nations, I always recall the above quote from one of the former UN Secretary Generals & ask the question ‘What if there is no organization called United Nations? Just imagine, how the world would look like when over 193 nations act in their own without any cooperation or common agreement among each other?!?’    Being the Official Sri Lankan Youth Delegate to the 71 st United Nations General Assembly which was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York USA, was one of the most unforgettable experiences that I ever had in...

Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has often been termed as being fundamentally nonaligned. But what does ‘nonaligned’ really mean in the post-cold war era? Since the end of the cold war, academic and scholarly publications have oft criticized the ambiguity surrounding both the term and the membership of the nonaligned movement. In this brief speech I don't intend to discuss or decipher what form of nonalignment Sri Lanka followed in the past. I'm sure the diplomats present here today have a better understanding than I do of the varied nuances of previous administrations foreign policy. Instead I intend to re-define the meaning of nonalignment as I perceive in the present administration’s foreign policy.  The present administration of Sri Lanka is focused on building amicable relations with all countries. This has been repeatedly iterated by the president, prime minster and the foreign minister on numerous occasions. I believe that the present administration has redefined...

China has used its pandas to help foster relationships with other countries for more than half a century. This unique way of diplomacy has been practiced by Chinese rulers since the Tang dynasty. The Chinese view the Pandas as a national treasure. Chinese policy makers employed a soft power strategy to improve its relations with countries all over the world by gifting Pandas. These Pandas were gifted to countries like the United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union to ease tensions and to build new diplomatic relationships. Yet this all changed when the Panda’s became an endangered species. Now pandas are only loaned to friendly, geopolitically and economically important partner countries of China. From the late 50’s to the early 80’s, China has gifted 28 pandas to nine countries. The First Panda Diplomats Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing were gifted to the United States in 1972. This was a generous gift of friendship offered to the United States by the Chinese government after...

Some say it is the most important area of ocean in the world, the South China Sea is rich in natural resources and 30% of the world’s shipping trade flows through this area. The rising super power, People’s Republic of China claim to South China Sea has been a highly debated issue in international affairs. There are rich oil and gas resources in the South China Sea. It is also called “the second Persian Gulf” by experts. An astonishing amounts of oil reserves are buried in the South China Sea. It is estimated that around 7.7 billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas reserves of around 266 trillion cubic feet are up for grabs. A report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2013 raised the total estimated oil reserves to 11 billion barrels. Five countries lay claim to parts of South China Sea and most of these countries base their claims on the United Nations: Law of the Sea Art.57 Breadth of exclusive economic zone; “The exclusive economic zone shall not ext...