My independent view on Sri Lanka
1) Sovereign, independent nation.
2) Right to determine its own foreign policy
3) Right to maintain its territorial claim and do whatever it wants within its territory
4) Foreign policy of Sri Lanka is not dependent on India - and should never be
5) If its military wants assistance from other nations, so be it. IT is an independent nation and its independent policies must be respected if it is about defence.
6) Every step Sri Lanka takes in order to import arms from another nation should not be seen as a threat to India.
7) China's development of ports - even though this is about economical development at least as far as the Chinese and the Sri Lankans are saying, honestly, there is nothing MUCH India can do if and when (hypothetically) Chinese naval ships use the two ports for refuelling.
8) CHina's and much of East Asia's fuel supply lines (ships) cut across the breadth of the IOR. Sea lanes of the Indian Ocean region used by these ships (be they Chinese or Lankan or Japanese or South African or Tanzanian.. happen to be away from Indain territorial waters. All flags sail through INTERNATIONAL WATERS of the Indian Ocean.
9) We Indians have to accept that - especially in the case of Sri Lanka - it is rightfully an Indian Ocean island nation and it is no nation's suzerain .
10) If the Chinese DO come to Hambantota with Zheng Ge's naval armada for refueling, there is nothing we can do about it. They will be in S.Lankan waters, using their facilities (built by the benefactor) and the transaction will be between the two nations.
Now some very immensely patriotic Indian brothers of mine will say Hambantota will be a listening post for the Chinese and it will harm India's security apparatus. Assume it happens, what ... HONESTLY ask yourself ... what the F can we do ? Resort to attacking Lanka? Stir up another hornets nest? Or make our own defenses more stronger by building our own naval / listening stations in the vicinity and hear what the secret bed talk between China/Lanka goes on?
Can we block China in the IOR? - No. If yes, on what basis? Unless they start firing at us, it is not a possibility.
If yes, which IOR waters are we talking of blocking them?
I would request all (Pak/Indi/Lankan/Bangla and whoever wants to get into this flame bait FORUM ) understand the ground realities of independent nations first and then start beating chests as to whose dick is bigger and who owns the bed and who can cheat around bedding different partners.
Another take on Sri Lanka - if it had not been for the bloody civil war spanning so many decades, TAKE MY WORD, Lanka would have been a STIFF economic powerhouse in the IOR region, far surpassing Pakistan's, India's, Bangladesh's economy of yesteryears. The worst thing to happen to Lanka was the war (and all its ethnic reasons ).
Alas..