Sri Lanka, Aug. 17 -- Colombo has the port. India has the cargo. With nearly, Sri Lanka's record-breaking port performance hides a strategic vulnerability it can no longer ignore. 45% of Colombo's transshipment business linked to Indian cargo and half of Colombo's transshipment business is linked to India. This is both Colombo's greatest opportunity-and its greatest strategic vulnerability.

Colombo has every reason to celebrate.

In 2025, the Port of Colombo handled a record 8.29 million TEUs, its highest-ever annual throughput. Around 81% of that volume was transshipment, confirming Colombo's position as one of the Indian Ocean's principal container hubs.

But behind the record lies a number that Colombo's policymakers, port authoritie...