China has poured $2.2 billion into Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. Now it’s at the top of a list of possible sites for future Chinese naval bases.
The island country sits right at the crossroads of the Indian Ocean trade route and has high naval value, according to an American research project, AidData.
Its database shows 78 ports across the world have been funded or constructed by Chinese state-own entities. Those investments total almost $30 billion.