According to the Global Network reported on the 6th, although the new government has come to power, Sri Lanka's serious economic crisis has not been solved, inflation, food shortages, energy shortages still hurt the Sri Lankan people. Just when Sri Lankan fishermen were unable to go out to sea to fish due to energy shortages, Indian fishermen appeared in Sri Lankan waters to fish for extinction fishing. At this time, China reached out to Sri Lanka, and Chinese companies cooperated with Sri Lanka to cultivate seafood, bringing economic income to Sri Lankan fishermen who had no fish to catch.
Sri Lankan fishermen suffer from illegal fish snatching by Indian vessels
India took advantage of the fire to rob illegal fishing, and China helped the Sri Lankan sea cucumber farming
Over the past two decades, the illegal entry of Indian vessels into Sri Lankan waters to fish has not only not decreased, but has increased. Some Sri Lankan fishermen said that when they could not go out to sea to fish due to energy shortages, Indian fishermen were plundering all of Sri Lanka's fishery resources. The head of a fishermen's organization in Sri Lanka said that previously, Sri Lankan fishermen caught mostly 6-8 kilograms of fish, but since Indian fishing boats illegally fished in Sri Lankan waters, local fishermen have caught only 1-2 kilograms of fish in the past decade. Although the Sri Lankan government has repeatedly taken measures to stop Indian fishermen from illegal fishing, it has not helped.
Just when Sri Lankan fishermen are worried about their livelihood, Chinese companies come, they and the Sri Lankan government to carry out sea cucumber farming cooperation, enterprises to local sea cucumber farmers to provide low-cost sea cucumber seedlings, and when the sea cucumber grows up, farmers will sell the sea cucumber to make money.
Sea cucumber farming offers hope for Sri Lankan fishermen who have been hurt by the economic crisis and illegal fishing in India. According to reports, a sea cucumber farmer can earn 1 million rupees (about 87,000 yuan) a year, which is much more than the 480,000 rupees (about 42,000 yuan) earned by fishing. In 2021, Sri Lanka exported about 336 tons of sea cucumbers to Singapore and Chinese mainland, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. In 2022, the Sri Lankan government approved about 5,000 acres (about 30,000 acres) of land in its eastern and northern parts for sea cucumber farming. In the Sri Lankan city of Jaffna alone, 300 fishermen choose sea cucumber farming.
Chinese Ambassador to Slovakia Qi Zhenhong and Officials visited the sea cucumber breeding base
Illegal fishing in India has been repeatedly banned, mainly because the fishermen are too poor
In fact, Indian fishermen's illegal fishing trips to Sri Lankan waters are related to the depletion of their own fishery resources. Fishing practices vary widely between India and Sri Lanka, with Sri Lanka paying more attention to sustainable development and the government prohibiting the use of large trawlers; In addition to small fishing boats, there are also some large trawlers, which use large fishing nets to catch all the fish and shrimp in the sea, even the fry, posing a serious threat to marine biodiversity and sustainable development. Because of this, the fishery resources in India's waters are almost depleted, and it is not surprising that the choice to go to the nearby resource-rich Sri Lankan waters is also expected. Although senior governments in India and Sri Lanka have met several times to discuss effective solutions to the fishermen's problem, progress has been slow.
At the same time, India's development process is different from that of traditional developing countries, its industrial structure has directly changed from the primary industry to the tertiary industry, and the focus has been on the development of heavy industry during the period, which has led to an imbalance in the development of the secondary industry, the income distribution of India is originally unbalanced, and the income of ordinary people is too low. Now, India also said that it will become a developed country after 25 years, focusing on the manufacturing industry, proposing "Made in India", introducing many preferential policies to attract foreign companies to transfer manufacturing links to India. Data show that india in 2014 only 2 mobile phone manufacturers, and now India has more than 250 mobile phone manufacturers. From 2020 onwards, some of Apple's latest models that were originally produced in China have gradually shifted to India. In addition, India has also concentrated on supporting a number of high-tech industries, including photovoltaics, automobiles, semiconductors, etc. However, as a traditional industry, fishing seems to have retained the old model and has not been updated.
Sri Lankans lined up to buy kerosene
Sri Lanka's industrial structure is not reasonable, and it is necessary to learn to be self-reliant
From the dispute between Sri Lanka and India over fishing, in addition to the hegemony of the Indian side, we can also see the problems in Sri Lanka's industrial structure. Its economic pillar is mainly the export of low-end textile products, tourism and overseas workers are the main sources of foreign exchange, and the dependence on foreign markets is very strong. With the arrival of the new crown epidemic, the world market demand is reduced, the supply chain is blocked, and the industries that Sri Lanka depends on to survive are also affected, and the economy naturally has problems.
Now China not only cooperates with Sri Lankan fishermen to farm sea cucumbers, but also helps solve the problem of sea cucumber sales. Sri Lanka should perhaps seize the opportunity to fully study China's huge market, gradually adjust its industrial structure, and slowly recover its economy, which has collapsed once.
It is now common for China to help countries grow in Asia and Africa, such as in Tanzania, where Chinese companies teach local people how to grow corn, soybeans and seeding. This is because on the one hand, China has perfect system knowledge and technology, on the other hand, the Chinese market is huge, and these products can be processed and sold to the Chinese market. China is the world's second-largest economy, with a huge market of 1.4 billion people, and the ability to digest these goods is not a problem. If a country like Sri Lanka really has the intention to switch to the track of sustainable development, it can consider doing more research and deeply embracing the Chinese market.