SRI LANKA: PM Appointed Acting Pres After Rajapaksa Flees

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been appointed as Acting President after the incumbent President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country last night.

• President Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives on a military jet in an effort to escape mass protests that have seen the country grind to a standstill and a state of emergency declared.
• Sri Lanka is in the midst of a deep economic crisis, which protesters blame on the alleged mismanagement and corruption of the Rajapaksa administration. Wickremesinghe's appointment is unlikely to dampen public outrage, with the PM's gov't seen as complicit in propping up the Rajapaksa administration.
• Sri Lanka is the first nation that has seen major investment as part of China's 'Belt and Road' strategy come into major financial hardship and political chaos. Foreign Ministry spox Wang Wenbin stated on Tuesday that China "is ready to work with relevant countries and international financial institutions and will continue to play a positive role in helping tackle Sri Lanka's current difficulties, ease its debt burden and realize sustainable development."
• The Sri Lankan parliament is set to reconvene on 15 July in order to elect a new president on 20 July. The identity of the next president could determine Sri Lanka's attitude to any further Chinese offers of assistance, or whether the gov't will seek closer ties with India or even the United States in an effort to escape the so-called 'Chinese debt trap'.