The spotlight is back on a shipping port in Sri Lanka. The United States is getting ready to pour over $550 million into the Port of Colombo.
The loan will fund the construction of a deep-water shipping container terminal. It’s coming from a federal agency called the U.S. International Development Finance Corp.
The agency says the goal is to craft critical infrastructure to: “transform Colombo into a world-class logistics hub.”
While CEO Scott Nathan says the new terminal will strengthen U.S. allies in the region, expand shipping capacity, and create greater prosperity for Sri Lanka without adding to the nation’s debt woes.
Critics of China’s global infrastructure project—the Belt and Road Initiative—say it left Sri Lanka in financial turmoil through engaging in debt-trap diplomacy.
Countries like Laos also signed on for the Chinese infrastructure loans, but later found itself saddled with debt worth more than its entire GDP.
Philippines Pulls Out of Beijing’s Belt and Road
Amid those concerns, the Philippines is pulling out of the Belt and Road.
Beijing had promised to lend the country $5 billion to build three railway lines, but the Philippines’ Transport Minister explained the withdrawal came after China failed to respond to funding requests.
That’s alongside a long-term dispute over territory in the South China Sea. Recent clashes between Philippine coast guard ships and Chinese vessels have ended in collisions. With the Chinese ships attempting to block supply drop-offs to Philippine troops stationed on a contested shoal there.