China’s broad Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has led to more Chinese investment throughout Asia, notably in Sri Lanka. These investments have recently received criticism, due to rising geopolitical rivalry in the Indian Ocean and also Sri Lanka’s strategic position and ports in the area. Geostrategic threats are fueling fears that Beijing will be using ports and other projects for military objectives. Sri Lanka has been a significant political and economic partner for China. Due to its geographical location as a hub of the projected 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, Sri Lanka has now become a new investment hot zone since Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. There are concerns that, by allowing Beijing's investment, Sri Lanka risks becoming trapped in a debt trap, with both legal and illicit Chinese labour displacing local workers.
Dr. Mohammad Saqib (Mon,) studied this question.