Burdened by massive Chinese debt, Sri Lanka handed operational control of Hambantota Port to China. Local unrest, job fears, and a 99-year lease seen as a de facto sale reveal the realities and tensions behind China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

A controversial port whose operational rights Sri Lanka handed to China after being driven into heavy debt.
2018-01-18
The following is from page 7 of today’s Sankei Shimbun.
All emphasis in the text except headlines is mine.
Sri Lanka — The Stolen Hambantota Port
“The Belt and Road is China’s trap.”
Hambantota Port in southern Sri Lanka, built with Chinese assistance.
It is a controversial port whose operational control Sri Lanka handed to China after being pushed into massive debt to China.
In the surrounding area, strikes by workers fearing dismissal have occurred repeatedly, and an unusually tight security posture has been imposed.
What has the port brought to the region?
We walked the site of friction created by China’s modern Silk Road economic sphere initiative, the Belt and Road.
(Hambantota, Hiroshi Mori, with photos)
A free port transformed
“What were you doing there? Who are you?”
As I tried to leave after photographing the entire port from a hilltop, a security guard approached.
“This is a sensitive area. Taking photos cannot be accepted,” he said in a harsh tone, forcing me to delete the images.
The reality appeared far removed from the “commercial port” claimed by China and Sri Lanka.
Unable to pay high interest — “virtually a colony”
There are about five entrances and exits, but guards stand watch at each one.
“The port used to be open to anyone. I often fished here when I was a child. Since China came, it’s become restrictive,” said Hatota (50), a taxi driver.
Along the coastline, many houses stand vacant, all reportedly relocated due to the port expansion plan.
Hambantota, located 250 kilometers southeast of Colombo, was once a fishing village and remains rich in nature, with wild elephants and iguanas still living there.
The port was built in 2010 under the pro-China Rajapaksa administration.
Much of the approximately $1.3 billion cost came from Chinese loans.
“At the time, we thought it would enrich the local area,” Hatota recalled.
But what weighed heavily on Sri Lanka was the interest rate set by China, reaching as high as 6.3 percent.
Ultimately, Sri Lanka had no choice but to lease 70 percent of the shares to a Chinese state-owned company for 99 years.
A lease payment of $1.12 billion was made, but it can be described as a de facto “sale.”
“It’s a debt trap. It’s as if we’ve become a colony.”
An opposition lawmaker expressed anger, but it was too late.
The meaning of 99 years
It is not only politicians who are outraged.
About 200 meters before the port’s main gate, striking dockworkers held a rally.
Monks also participated, holding banners in Sinhala reading “Jobs or death?” and shouting slogans.
According to the workers, with operational control shifting to China, there is a risk of mass layoffs among local laborers.
One participant said, “We hear there are plans for layoffs, but there has been no satisfactory explanation from the government or the Chinese side,” expressing anxiety and anger.
Meanwhile, supporters of former President Rajapaksa, who led the port development, have also protested the current Sirisena administration, saying that through the transfer of shares to China, “national assets have moved into foreign hands.”
“The port has certainly created some employment. But it has also brought even greater confusion to the region,” said a local journalist.
In contrast to the commotion at the main gate, inside the port there were no moving vehicles and an eerie silence prevailed.
Only about one ship every few days reportedly calls at the port, making it hard to see it functioning as a commercial port.
A Chinese engineer I finally managed to speak with explained that the pronunciation of the lease term “99” in Chinese sounds like “long-lasting,” adding that it reflects “the Chinese government’s intention to manage Hambantota into the future.”
Regarding local backlash, he said, “A hundred years from now, this could become a major city like Hong Kong. If so, wouldn’t the locals be happy?”