Sri Lanka's India ties strained as Rajapaksa rethinks port deal

COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's strong ties with neighboring India are being tested after President Gotabaya Rajapaksa announced that his government is reviewing a port deal worth millions of dollars that was signed between the previous Sirisena government and New Delhi.

Political observers say the move is the latest effort by Rajapaksa to distance himself from grants and other funding offered by the "Quad" nations -- the U.S., India, Japan and Australia -- which are trying to counter China's growing geopolitical influence. Sri Lanka's government recently shelved the Japan-funded Colombo Light Railway project and a $480 million Millennium Challenge Corporation grant from the U.S.