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Sri Lanka Deploys Troops as Fuel Shortage Sparks Protests

Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic meltdown since independence in 1948, with rolling electricity blackouts and essential goods in short supply Ishara S. KODIKARA AFP
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic meltdown since independence in 1948, with rolling electricity blackouts and essential goods in short supply Ishara S. KODIKARA AFP
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Sri Lanka Deploys Troops as Fuel Shortage Sparks Protests

Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic meltdown since independence in 1948, with rolling electricity blackouts and essential goods in short supply Ishara S. KODIKARA AFP
Sri Lanka is grappling with its worst economic meltdown since independence in 1948, with rolling electricity blackouts and essential goods in short supply Ishara S. KODIKARA AFP

Sri Lanka ordered troops to petrol stations Tuesday as sporadic protests erupted among the thousands of motorists queueing up daily for scarce fuel.

The South Asian island nation is grappling with its worst economic meltdown since independence in 1948, with rolling electricity blackouts and essential goods such as food and cooking gas also in short supply, AFP said.

Authorities said soldiers were deployed after angry crowds blocked a busy street in Colombo and held up traffic for hours because they were unable to buy kerosene oil on Monday.

"Tempers are getting frayed as queues get longer," a top defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"A decision was made last night to call out soldiers to reinforce the police. This is to discourage any unrest."

Footage of Monday's incident shared on social media showed a group of angry women blockading a coach carrying tourists to protest shortages of kerosene needed for cooking stoves.

The troop call also follows the stabbing murder of a motorcyclist by another driver after a dispute over his place in a long queue for fuel outside the capital.

Three elderly people have dropped dead at fuel queues since Saturday, police said, adding that numerous petrol stations saw people camping overnight to wait for diesel and gasoline purchases.

Military officials said soldiers were deployed at pumping stations of the state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corp, which accounts for two-thirds of the fuel retail business in the nation of 22 million people.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's office announced a summit of all political parties on Wednesday to discuss the economic crisis, but opposition groups said they planned to boycott the meeting.

Sri Lanka's financial crisis stems from a critical shortfall of foreign currency, leaving traders unable to finance imports.

The Covid-19 pandemic throttled the island's tourism sector -- a key foreign exchange earner -- and remittances from Sri Lankans working overseas have also declined sharply.

Rajapaksa announced last week that the country will seek an IMF bailout.

Shortages have wrought havoc on almost every aspect of daily life, with authorities last week postponing term tests for millions of students because of a lack of paper and ink.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.