Power Rivalry in South Asia amid the Pandemic

Bhagya Senaratne is a Lecturer in the Department of Strategic Studies at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University in Sri Lanka. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Colombo for her research titled “An Analysis of Sri Lanka–China Bilateral Relations from 1994 to 2015.” Dr. Senaratne researches and teaches on areas related to diplomacy, strategic communication, Sri Lanka–China relations, foreign policy, maritime security, and nontraditional security challenges.

Karolos Karnikis is Senior Vice President of Information and Technology at NBR.

Podcast Timestamps

00:28 Introduction: Can you tell us about your research?

02:41 What is the current public health situation in South Asia?

04:38 Can you elaborate on the roles that extraregional states, international organizations, and regional organizations have played during the pandemic?

06:53 What accounts for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation’s lack of effectiveness?

10:23 Could you talk a little about the concept of “permanent friends versus permanent interests” you introduced in your essay?

13:40 How has Sri Lanka’s relationship with China evolved throughout the pandemic?

19:23 What have you observed in the early stages of the Biden administration about its commitment to the South Asia region?

24:36 What’s the current health situation in Sri Lanka?

27:11 Closing thoughts

This podcast was recorded on 3/23/21.

This podcast was produced by the National Bureau of Asian Research with support from the Henry Luce Foundation.