Editing Sri Lanka (section)

== Foreign relations ==
{{Main|Foreign relations of Sri Lanka}}{{See also|Sri Lanka and the Non-Aligned Movement}}
[[File:Jayewardene presents elephant to Reagan.jpg|thumb|President [[J. R. Jayewardene]] gifting [[Jayathu]], a baby elephant to US President [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1984]]

Sri Lanka is a founding member of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] (NAM). While ensuring that it maintains its independence, Sri Lanka has cultivated [[India–Sri Lanka relations|relations with India]].<ref name="relatns">{{Cite news |title=Foreign Relations |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/74.htm |work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]] |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-date=31 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140331174753/http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/74.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Sri Lanka became a member of the [[United Nations]] in 1955. Today, it is also a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]], the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|SAARC]], the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]], the [[Asian Development Bank]], and the [[Colombo Plan]].

The United National Party has traditionally favoured links with the West, while the Sri Lanka Freedom Party has favoured links with the East.<ref name="relatns" /> Sri Lankan Finance Minister J. R. Jayewardene, together with then Australian Foreign Minister Sir Percy Spencer, proposed the Colombo Plan at the Commonwealth Foreign Minister's Conference held in Colombo in 1950.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Colombo Plan at 57 |url=http://www.colombo-plan.org/viewPressContent.php?id=93&page=4 |work=[[Colombo Plan]] | author=Jayasekera, Upali S. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120113150629/http://www.colombo-plan.org/viewPressContent.php?id=93&page=4 |archive-date=13 January 2012}}</ref> At the [[Treaty of San Francisco|San Francisco Peace Conference]] in 1951, while many countries were reluctant, Sri Lanka argued for a free [[Japan]] and refused to accept payment of reparations for [[World War II]] damage because it believed it would harm Japan's economy.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Sri Lanka excels at the San Francisco Peace Conference |url=http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/09/07/p12.pdf |work=The Island |date=7 September 2009 |access-date=7 September 2011 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111157/http://pdfs.island.lk/2009/09/07/p12.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sri Lanka-China relations started as soon as the People's Republic of China was formed in 1949. The two countries signed an important [[Ceylon-China Trade Agreement of 1952|Rubber-Rice Pact]] in 1952.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lanka-China bilateral ties at its zenith |url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2010/10/03/fea02.asp |work=The Sunday Observer |date=3 October 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304082628/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2010/10/03/fea02.asp |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> Sri Lanka played a vital role at the [[Asian–African Conference]] in 1955, which was an important step in the crystallisation of the NAM.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Bandung Conference of 1955 and the resurgence of Asia and Africa |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2005/04/21/fea01.htm |work=The Daily News |date=21 April 2005 |access-date=27 July 2014 |archive-date=31 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231075624/http://archives.dailynews.lk/2005/04/21/fea01.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The Bandaranaike government of 1956 significantly changed the pro-western policies set by the previous UNP government. It recognised Cuba under [[Fidel Castro]] in 1959. Shortly afterward, Cuba's revolutionary [[Che Guevara]] paid a visit to Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lanka-Cuba relations should be strengthened |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2004/01/14/new24.html |work=The Daily News |date=14 January 2004 |access-date=27 July 2014 |archive-date=31 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231070650/http://archives.dailynews.lk/2004/01/14/new24.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Sirima–Shastri Pact|Sirima-Shastri Pact]] of 1964<ref>{{Cite news |title=29 October 1964 |url=http://pact.lk/29-october-1964/ |work=Pact.lk |access-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150128112857/http://pact.lk/29-october-1964/ |archive-date=28 January 2015 }}</ref> and [[Sirima–Gandhi Pact|Sirima-Gandhi Pact]] of 1974<ref>{{Cite news |title=Statelessness abolished? |url=http://www.cope.nu/show.asp?NewsID=170&DocType=News |work=cope.nu |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813065808/http://www.cope.nu/show.asp?NewsID=170&DocType=News |archive-date=13 August 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> were signed between Sri Lankan and Indian leaders in an attempt to solve the [[Ceylon Citizenship Act|long-standing dispute]] over the status of [[Indian Tamils of Sri Lanka|plantation workers of Indian origin]]. In 1974, [[Katchatheevu|Kachchatheevu]], a small island in [[Palk Strait]], was formally ceded to Sri Lanka.<ref>{{Cite news |title=India-Sri Lanka: 1921 Conference On Fisheries And Ceding Of Kachchatheevu – Analysis |url=http://www.albanytribune.com/22082011-india-sri-lanka-1921-conference-on-fisheries-and-ceding-of-kachchatheevu-%E2%80%93-analysis/ |work=Albany Tribune |date=22 August 2011 |author=Suryanarayan, V. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402073824/http://www.albanytribune.com/22082011-india-sri-lanka-1921-conference-on-fisheries-and-ceding-of-kachchatheevu-%E2%80%93-analysis/ |archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref> By this time, Sri Lanka was strongly involved in the NAM, and the [[5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement|fifth NAM summit]] was held in Colombo in 1976.<ref>{{Cite news |title=NAM Golden Jubilee this year |url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2011/07/10/fea02.asp |work=The Sunday Observer |date=10 July 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095243/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2011/07/10/fea02.asp |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> The relationship between Sri Lanka and India became tense under the government of [[Junius Richard Jayewardene|J. R. Jayawardene]].<ref name="atimes" /><ref name="indnrel">{{Cite journal |doi=10.1080/09700160008455216 |title=Indo-Sri Lankan security perceptions: Divergences and convergences |journal=Strategic Analysis |volume=24 |issue=2 |page=343 |year=2000 |last1=Murthy |first1=P. |s2cid=154512767}}</ref> As a result, [[Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War|India intervened in the Sri Lankan Civil War]] and subsequently deployed an [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] in 1987.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE0D8173FF936A35755C0A961948260&n=Top%2fNews%2fWorld%2fCountries%20and%20Territories%2fIndia |title=India airlifts aid to Tamil rebels |newspaper=The New York Times |date=5 June 1987 |author=Weisman, Steven R. |access-date=18 February 2017 |archive-date=19 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080219034919/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0DE0D8173FF936A35755C0A961948260&n=Top%2FNews%2FWorld%2FCountries%20and%20Territories%2FIndia |url-status=live }}</ref> In the present, Sri Lanka enjoys extensive relations with China,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL31707.pdf |page=6 |title=Sri Lanka: Background and U.S. Relations |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]] |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-date=26 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131126061136/http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL31707.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Russia,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/02/09/russia-and-sri-lanka-strengthen-bilateral-relations |title=Russia and Sri Lanka to strengthen bilateral relations |newspaper=[[Asian Tribune]] |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201213355/http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/02/09/russia-and-sri-lanka-strengthen-bilateral-relations |url-status=live }}</ref> and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/02/04/world-leaders-send-warm-greeting-sri-lanka-independence-day |title=World leaders send warm greeting to Sri Lanka on Independence Day |newspaper=[[Asian Tribune]] |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-date=1 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201213317/http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/02/04/world-leaders-send-warm-greeting-sri-lanka-independence-day |url-status=live }}</ref>