International Auto Workers: Organize solidarity with the struggle against job cuts and police violence

auWritten by: International Auto Workers Coordination on 5 July 2026

 

Dear comrades in the International Automotive Workers' Coordination,

The auto industry is intensifying its attacks on auto workers. VW plans to cut 100,000 jobs worldwide. In Germany alone, four plants employing thousands of workers are set to be closed. Mercedes plans to close a plant in South Africa. Two plants in China have already been shut down. Capitalist competition is a battle of annihilation that is to be waged on the backs of us workers.

In Germany, the slogan “Co-determination through strike starting July 8” is gaining traction. The first strike took place yesterday at Mercedes. We are sending you an article from the special edition (3/26) of the newspaper “Vorwärtsgang,” written by and for colleagues at the German plants of VW, Audi, Porsche, and MAN.

It is obvious that VW’s top management is terrified of a workers’ struggle. On Monday, seven distributors of the workers’ newspaper “Vorwärtsgang” were arrested in front of the Audi plant in Heilbronn and led away in handcuffs. This is a repressive measure the likes of which Germany has not seen since World

War II.
The VW and other auto bosses are showing their true colors. They will stop at nothing to maximize profits.

At the 3rd International Automotive Workers' Conference, we resolved: No struggle should stand alone! Let’s throw a wrench in the automakers’ plans! 

Please spread this information within your organizations and organize solidarity, especially against police violence targeting workers’ solidarity.

Long live international solidarity!

“Vorwärtsgang“, special edition 3-2026 30.06.2026: 

The VW Executive Board’s plans are dead serious! Last Wednesday, VW CEO Blume rallied the Executive Board behind a plan to cut 100,000 jobs and close four plants. If the Supervisory Board meeting on 9 July does not go along with his plan, he intends to push it through against the Supervisory Board’s will at an extraordinary general meeting in August.

Illusions are bursting like soap bubbles: ‘The majority on the Supervisory Board, the VW Act or any contracts will protect us.’ The lifelong lie of ‘co-determination’ has failed spectacularly!

Now there is only one thing that will help: CO-DETERMINATION THROUGH STRIKE ACTION!

The Executive Board must feel, even before the Supervisory Board meeting, what the workforce thinks of these plans. Let’s show them that there is a high price to pay for messing with us! Not a single car, gearbox, axle or spare part will be produced or leave the factory. All workforces across the VW Group must stand together.

Other workforces in the car industry, among suppliers and in other sectors must also show solidarity. Through their attacks, the monopolies and the state are declaring war on us, the working class, across the whole of Europe. We are more united and better organised than these opponents, who can no longer solve any problems.

VW is terrified of our response! On Monday, the Audi management in Neckarsulm called the police. Seven distributors of the Vorwärtsgang and members of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany (MLPD} were arrested and subjected to hours of identification procedures. What was their crime? They declared their solidarity with the workers’ struggle.

There it is: the dictatorship of the monopolies, operating through a fascistised state apparatus.

Let’s build solidarity on a broader basis! Our response: the VW Executive Board’s plans must be scrapped entirely!

FROM 8 JULY: CO-DETERMINATION THROUGH STRIKE!

Australian Bankers Association seeks to strengthen ruling class power

Written by: (Contributed) on 5 Juky 2026

 

The recent Australian Banking Association (ABA) Conference received a report from the assistant governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, Brad Jones, which addressed 'challenges to international cohesion, which had re-emerged for a number of years'. (1) The peak trade association is highly influential inside the corridors of power in Canberra and other provincial cities across Australia. The report, therefore, can be taken in that light.

The assessment provided an insight into recent global developments, which were based on a comparison with the so-called New World Order of yesteryear. The immediate period following the previous Cold War, was marked by the US placing itself at the centre of the global economy with three main considerations: to enhance security by maintaining a strong defence capability and promoting co-operative security measures, to open foreign markets and spur global economic growth, and to promote US-style democracy abroad. (2)

The ABA report referred to the three main security considerations as being responsible for having 'greased the wheels of global finance and trade'. (3) It was marked by capital being flung to the four corners of the global economy from international financial institutions largely controlled by the US, with longer-term implications for hegemonic positions. A surge in the use of financial sanctions in recent years “meant that financial institutions were increasingly exposed to ‘significant legal and business risk’ if they wanted to engage in cross-border trade and investment.” Threats from technology and cyberspace were now much more common.

Over the last two decades, developments have not followed the planned projections; in fact, the US seriously miscalculated its potential global reach. It failed:                                   
                                            
Global GDP growth (annual %)
                                                             1994  - 3.4 %
                                                             2024  - 2.9 %     (4)

Recorded global economic growth has continued to drop on the annual basis, as the tide has turned, with countries once on the periphery of the world economy now grabbing centre space. Countries once regarded as onside with the US are now swinging toward trade organisations, including BRICs and the Gulf Co-operation Council, which has raised serious security considerations as shown with the recent US war with Iran.
                                                 
Economic statistics from elsewhere in the global economy, reveal the US has already been pushed away from its central position. Studies of the development have revealed that while the US still maintains 59 per cent of global foreign exchange reserves, it has been seriously challenged by the BRICs trade body, and others. (5) In fact, it has been noted that the BRICs 'has established financial institutions to bypass Western-controlled systems' (6) The
US-petro-dollar has been seriously challenged by countries using other currencies. (7)

And with the growing economic turmoil, came political and diplomatic considerations. The ABA report, for example, used terminology including reference to 'challenges to international cohesion … a … fragmenting of cross-border capital flows, increasing evasion of sophisticated sanctions and weakening the public-private coordination'. (8)

The nightmare scenario for the US, however, was initially placed onto the agenda of the World Economic Forum in Davos, nearly two decades ago. The annual global financial forum, in January 2008, for example, received a report that while the US maintained control of about a third of the world's financial assets with a US$56.1 trillion share, the emerging markets of the recently globalised world economy held US$26.3 trillion; the growth rates of the latter were twice as dynamic as the former. (9)

The report, marking the origins of a general trend, nevertheless, fell on deaf ears. Influential decision-makers in international financial institutions were more inclined to make a fast buck, rather than consider the longer-term implications of their policies, which they foisted upon allies: de-regulation, privatisation, liberalisation.

Economic statistics from the period in question reveal those on the receiving end of the vast flows of capital, thrived; they continue to do so.

Studies of various regions of the global economy have revealed that in the period 2014-24, for example, the economies of Latin America experienced a 52 per cent growth rate, their counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region expanded by 50 per cent, double that of the US and Euro-zone. (10)

Alarm in Washington about the former, and the fate of their already decrepit Monroe Doctrine, was addressed in a recent Congressional Report which found China had become a major player, not only in BRICs, but also in what the US regarded as their Latin American 'backyard'. (11) Government departments in Washington which should have been assessing the developments, remained blissfully ignorant for creating the very economic conditions for their own demise.  Arrogance, would appear a very appropriate term, for describing such negligence on their part.

A recent diplomatic statement from US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessant, has revealed the scale of the problem arising for the US; the diplomatic terminology is worthy of scrutiny. Reference to 'strategic industries migrated abroad', did not pay attention to the race-to-the-bottom mindset of globalisation, whereby constant cost-cutting pushed whole industries into emerging economies to maximise the rate of profit. (12) Reference in the statement, likewise, to 'critical supply chains concentrated in unfriendly jurisdictions', has provided a clear indication of the already changed balance of forces which has taken place due to globalisation. (13)

Much of the buffoonery accompanying the Trump presidential administration, moreover, is best assessed in the light that it reflects the most aggressive side of both Washington and the Pentagon. Policies are based upon the pretext of a last-ditch position with stormy scenarios looming on the horizon; the recent US diplomatic statement, for example, made reference to an assessment based upon the premise that 'other countries began to exploit our dependence as leverage. Now is the time to correct this'. (14)  Significant obstacles to the US diplomatic position, however, lie in their way. It is unlikely to change.

Studies conducted by the BRICs, for example, have found it has already managed to control over half of global financial assets. (15) Its National Development Bank, furthermore, has been described as a 'cornerstone for South-South co-operation, financing projects in local currencies that challenge the dominance of the US dollar in global finance'. (16)   Reliable sources have revealed BRICs has already reached a 35.6 per cent share of the global economy. (17) The US, in contrast, has continued to drop in significance:

                                                          2025 – 12.9 %
                                                          2026 – 12.8 %
                                                          2030 – 12.2 % projection  (18)

And with the slow economic demise of the US has come the inevitable political and diplomatic considerations about longer-term viability.
                           
The fact the ABA report also drew attention to the problem of Cold War spies and warnings from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network about Chinese military intelligence personnel using Western social media platforms to 'recruit Western targets', was not a coincidence. (19) It would all appear a throw-back to the previous Cold War, marked by a preoccupation of the 'enemy within' and fifth columnists hell-bent on undermining Australia. Attempts, by Canberra, to systematically strengthen class and state power are best assessed in that light; the mentality remains based in the notion of 'they have spies, we have agents'. Declassified documents from the period provide mind-boggling facts about the uses and abuses of power and intelligence-gathering techniques. They make a sobering read.                                

In conclusion, the ABA report has provided a glimpse of the dominant thinking inside the corridors of power in Canberra and Australia's provincial cities; it can be regarded as significant it has been accompanied by a similar report which revealed that only a minority of Australians now even trust decision-makers in Washington. (20) Traditional US hegemonic positions have been challenged.

The tide has turned, and keeps turning: We need an independent foreign policy!

1.     Don't repeat post-Cold War error: RBA, Australian, 18 June 2026.
2.     Report: US President Clinton to Congress, 21 July 1994.
3.     Australian., op.cit., 18 June 2026.
4.     GDP Growth (annual %), World Bank Group.
5.     BRICs and the shift away from dollar dependence, Chicago Policy Review, University of Chicago, 8 October 2025.
6.     Ibid.
7.     Two years ago, Saudi Arabia quietly cancelled the 'petro-dollar, Fortune, 7 April 2026.
8.     Australian, op.cit., 18 June 2026.
9.     Davos salutes SWFs in a celebration of global capitalism, Australian, 29 January 2008.
10.   Rethinking the rules for growth, McKinsey / Boston Consulting Group, 17 June 2025.
11.   'Pulling Latin America into China's orbit', US Congressional Report, 28 February 2026.
12.   Five core principles drive US economic statecraft, Australian, 25 June 2026.
13.   Ibid.
14.   Ibid.
15.   BRICs financial assets surpass $60 trillion, teleSur, 4 July 2025.
16.   Ibid.
17.   Expansion of BRICs, Bank of France Bulletin, Number 250, Article 2, 26 February 2024.
18.   US % of global GDP, World Economics, World Economics Research, London.
19.   Australian, op.cit., 18 June 2026.
20.   See: In an 'unsafe' world, we no longer trust US, Australian, 23 June 2026.

 

Asian Continental Report for ICOR Asian Conference

Written by: Alik Chakraborty / Asia Coordinator on July 4, 2026

 

The Asian continent has now become a focal point of imperialist conflict. The axis of US imperialism and  Zionist Israel are taking a heavy toll on the oppressed nations and peoples of Asia. In many places, the people are rising up against imperialist and expansionist aggression. Today, the overall politics of Asia revolves around the genocide of this axis of the Palestinians and agression of Iran. The consequences of this agression is not confined to these nations alone; it reverberates across Asia and the entire world. The resistance Iran mounted against the axis and their allies in middle East has shattered America's image as the world's foremost imperial superpower. The counter offensive of Iran not only compelled US to end the war of aggression but also pay 300 billion usd compensation to Iran. However, Iran has not achieved this in isolation; many nations of EU disapproved US aggression of Iran and imperialist powers like China and Russia stand behind Iran. 

Recent international development is that the Russia has not been invited to G7 summit. That is a big signal of conflict within imperialist forces. Reality proves that America's unchallenged hegemony can no longer prevail. What was possible in the occupation of Iraq obviously is not be possible in the case of Iran. Cracks have begun to appear in the wall of long-standing unilateral dominance, and through these fissures emerges the dream of a new world - one where no nation can impose its will upon another. it has instilled a renewed sense of hope among the exploited and oppressed people worldwide. People are coming to realize that self-respect can only be preserved through resistance. The arrogance of power is not eternal; true strength lies in steadfast adherence to the path of justice.

 History bears witness that the downfall of every empire begins with hubris. In the current global order, the sound of that hubris collapsing is clearly audible. Shattering the arrogance of hegemonic powers, this wave of new polarization demonstrates that the power of the working class is poised for a resurgence across Asia and the globe. The unity witnessed in the anti-imperialist protests across Europe and Asia following the devastation in Gaza is now being mirrored in the collective opposition to the attack on Iran.

China, the largest country in Asia, has consolidated its position as an imperialist power and has reached a stage where it can challenge US imperialism, allying with Russia, it is indirectly challenging US imperialism in conflicts-such as in Iran-while simultaneously establishing its dominance in the global market through low-priced goods. Beyond just commodities, it is challenging US hegemony in the realm of finance capital by introducing the Yuan as a medium of trade, replacing the Dollar. The erosion of the Dollar's absolute dominance has driven US Imperialism to desperation. Consequently, it has set out to directly subjugate the Arab world with Israel as an ally. Meanwhile, it is attempting to take effective measures against China across Asia; Taiwan is being incited against China. Above all, efforts are underway to pit India - the next largest Asian nation after China - against China through QUAD. (The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue members are Australia, India, Japan, and the United States.) The 11th Quad Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was hosted by India in New Delhi on May 26, 2026. Discussions focused on Indo-Pacific security and strategic resilience against China’s "growing military posturing". Although the Modi-NDA Indian government is aligned with US imperialism and trying to develop Indian state as a fascist state, India's long-standing policy of non-alignment and the Its membership in BRICS( 2001), SCO, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank(AIIB) , New Development Bank (NDB) prevents it from directly confronting China. Furthermore, the vast disparity in military and economic power deters the Indian government from a direct confrontation with China. 
While the Narendra Modi government has deviated from India's longstanding policies by supporting Israel and effectively positioning itself against Palestine, completely severing ties with China and Russia remains materially impossible; India is heavily dependent on Russia and China for global trade.

Meanwhile, the conflict involving Iran, the US, and Israel has precipitated a widespread crisis regarding petroleum products across Asia. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has severely disrupted the movement of oil tankers, plunging the economies of many countries, including India.  The conflict exposed that 'Modi India's is a junior partner of imperialism, especially US Imperialism.

While a working-class uprising against imperialism has not yet materialized in any Asian country, the ousting of the president in Sri Lanka - followed by new elections and the establishment of a leftist government – marks a significant development in Southeast Asia. The massive student-youth uprising in Bangladesh (July Uprising) and the Gen Z movement in Nepal signal the disintegration of the old social order. Though Bangladesh movement turned mainly towards reactionary and fundamentalist forces but still people of Bangladesh is taking lesson from that. And now India has entered into a rule of fascist forces but historic peasant movement and recent workers movement in central India are sending message that fascism is not the ultimate word. The new generation has entered the fray, they have struggled to connect with the communist movement. This is not merely a matter of the protesters' consciousness'; it is largely the result of the theoretical disarray and setbacks that have plagued the socialist and communist movements over recent decades.

Besides, the Rojava movement and the movement of the leftists against the Erdoğan government in Turkey are playing an important role in the leftist and communist movement in Asia. The movement has played an important role in suppressing the ultra-radical Muslim fundamentalist force like ISIS.

The colonial past and reactionary ruling Classes of the post-colonial countries of Asia and the nei-colonialism of old and new imperialist powers are giving raise to severe armed conflicts between various neighbouring countries in Asia. Key strategic flashpoints include the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China, Kasmir question between India and Pakistan and the Korean Peninsula

Therefore, the tasks facing the global communist movement, as well as the working class and oppressed peoples of every Asian nation, are as follows:

1.  To strive for the unity of communist revolutionary forces within the country and building coordination among communist revolutionaries of all the countries.

2.  To support the palestine struggle against Israel Zionist plan and terrible action of genocide and occupation of Palestine territory and support Palestine state of UN resolution 181. 

3. To stand against imperialist wars, and aggression on Iran by US-Israel axis.

4. To resist US imperialist attempts to violate the right of a nation's people to resolve their own internal issues.

5. To forge unity among the working class and oppressed peoples against reactionary ruling classes that act as imperialist lackeys.

6. To support struggles of oppressed nations in general and that of Kashmir in particular.

7. To combat ideologies of Zionism, militant Islamic fundamentalism, and Hindutva fascism across various nations

ICOR Asian Continental Conference - Report from Australia

Written by: CPA (M-L) on 4 July 2026

 

On July 4-5, the ICOR affiliated parties and organisations in the Asia region are meeting in Kathmandu, Nepal. We were unable to accept the invitation to attend, but sent this brief report on current conditions here to conference participants.

Introduction:  The Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist) greets participants in the ICOR Asia Continental Conference. We apologise for being unable to attend in person, but please rest assured that we value highly the solidarity and mutual support of comrades across our region. We particularly express our best wishes and good health to Comrade Alik, the continental coordinator, following the heinous crime of his attempted assassination by criminal thugs supporting Hindutva fascism.

The Australian ruling class remains committed to serving the US imperialists who hold a dominant position within the Australian state apparatus. They are part of the QUAD, comprising the US, Australia, India and Japan, and of AUKUS, comprising the US, UK and Australia.

Both main parliamentary political parties – the Liberal-National Coalition and the governing Australian Labor Party (ALP) – are cheerleaders for US imperialism within our region, and actively preparing the Australian armed forces for participation in a US-led war on its rival, Chinese social-imperialism.

Domestically, there has been a shift to the right with opinion polls now showing the One Nation Party of Pauline Hanson outpolling both Liberal and Labor.

Since its inception in 1997, One Nation has been an openly racist party attacking successive waves of migration to Australia. This is part of its appeal to different class elements, including some within the working class: it professes concern for social problems hurting working people, such as the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis, and poverty, but channels united working class action against these evils into disunity within the very multicultural Australian working class. It hides behind its professions of concern for workers the anti-worker legislation it continually votes for in parliament. It appeals to those who feel rejected by the mainstream parties, who feel nostalgic for Australia “as it used to be”, and those who are simply racist. Once dismissed as a fringe party, its current popularity reflects the deepening crisis of Australian capitalism.

Of greater danger to attempts to build a revolutionary working class movement is social-democracy in the form of the ALP, a bourgeois liberal reformist party to which many unions are affiliated. Workers may be deeply skeptical of the ALP leaders, but most currently accept that the parliamentary path is the continuing guarantee of their democratic rights. There are some indications that sections of the working class want a more spirited and militant level of struggle for their immediate demands, but few yet embrace our call for an independent working class agenda that rejects the constraints of social-democracy and the parliamentary path. 

Australia’s major trading partner is China. That creates scope for contradictions between sections of the ruling class. Among the people, there is no love lost for the social system China now represents, but not all are convinced that we should follow the US into a war with China. Among a section of the Left are those who support China as a bulwark of opposition to hegemony without realising that competing with the US for markets, raw materials and human labour power is not anti-hegemonism, but the pursuit of a rival hegemony by primarily economic and political means, while continuing to build its own military strength.

Our Party has growing concern with the militarisation of Space. This is proceeding rapidly with competition for the control of Space between the US bloc (including Australia), the European Union bloc, and the Chinese and Russians. Since earliest time, wars were fought on land; some four thousand years ago, the Mediterranean saw the development of sea-based warfare; and during World War One, the air became a new domain for conflict between countries. In recent times, two new overlapping domains have been added: cyber warfare and space warfare. 

It has been said that “Space assets underpin virtually every dimension of modern military power: reconnaissance and surveillance, precision navigation and targeting, communications architecture, missile early warning and anti-satellite capabilities.”  The UN Outer Space Treaty bans the deployment of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction from Space, but there are many types of weapons that fall between the cracks. This is, if you will excuse the pun, a space to watch.

Comrades, we wish this ICOR Asian Continental Conference every success.

Central Committee
Communist Party of Australia (Marxist-Leninist)
July 4, 2026

 

 

Australia's own electric car?

Written by: Ned K. on 4 July 2026

 

 

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Albanese said he was keen to see electric cars manufactured in Australia.

Australia's "own car" used to be the Holden. It was manufactured and assembled here, but in terms of ownership, it was US multinational, General Motors’ car. Over time, its models became part of the "world car" and eventually the Holden Commodore was made at General Motor's Opel factory in Germany as General Motors and other car multinationals closed down the whole car industry in Australia.

Albanese has not provided any detail on who would manufacture an electric car in Australia. For an electric car to be secure as "Australia's own electric car", the car manufacturing and design would need to be a public asset.

Given the Albanese government's reliance on imperialist foreign ownership and control of major industries in Australia, it is unlikely that his idea of Australia producing its own electric car means ownership by one or another multinational corporation.

Even if his version of an Australian electric car eventuated, in the world of "free trade", it would have to compete with electric cars exported around the world including to Australia from the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and especially China.

Chinese manufacturers are proving too strong for European car makers that have car manufacturing plants in China. VW's market share of VW cars manufactured and sold in China has dropped from 14.7% to 9.7% in 2025, resulting in VW planning to sack 100,000 workers globally, largely due to the rise of Chinese companies' sales both in China and worldwide.

It will be interesting to see if Albanese announces anything more about "Australia's own electric car" at the coming ALP national convention in late July in Adelaide South Australia.

He may do so to try and divert attention from the gag he and his cronies have put on any debate at this ALP national convention about AUKUS and whether it is in Australia's interests or not to continue being part of it.

“We must ensure the next war is won, not lost, in space” says retired US Air Force general

Written by: Nick G. on July 1, 2026

 

Retired General Jim Slife, former USAF Vice Chief of Staff, has criticised current space warfare planning, saying that obsolete acquisition programs need to be urgently replaced to enable the US to catch up with China in the race for domination of Space.

In a June 24, 2026 opinion piece, he said “Space is now the ultimate high ground in warfighting. Whoever dominates space has a decisive advantage over our adversaries. The recent combat operations in Iran, Ukraine, and Venezuela, where space operations were vital to each and every movement of military forces, have shattered any remaining illusions about space having a secondary role in modern conflict.”

In case anyone took that to mean only the use of satellites to direct ground fighting, he explained that “True space superiority requires systems capable of active orbital mobility that can maneuver on demand, inspect anomalies in real time, and actively service or physically safeguard our critical infrastructure under fire by firing back.”

Unlike objects in geostationary location (for example, a satellite positioned to be directly over Melbourne at all times), the US Space Force is now embracing the concept of satellites with the ability to move freely on orbit over long periods of time as a foundation for orbital warfare (see: Shifting gears: Space Force moves to embrace space mobility for orbital warfare - Breaking Defense ).

Slife says the US has the twin advantages of the world’s largest pools of venture capital and an innovation culture rooted in start-ups, and calls for funding to move away from prime contractors like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman. 

Slife himself now works for venture capitalist Scout Ventures, the FTG & Co. Investment Bank and as strategic advisor for a number of defence technology and aerospace firms. He exemplifies the military-finance capital complex that is advocating for the military control of Space by US imperialism.

Pointing to the need to catch up with China in the race for Space, he said “In 2024, the Space Force publicly confirmed five Chinese satellites conducted coordinated proximity maneuvers in low-Earth orbit, described by Space Force Gen. Mike Guetlein as satellite “dogfighting.” Beijing has since demonstrated on-orbit satellite refueling in geostationary orbit, extending the operational life of assets we cannot currently match.”

Meanwhile, on June 23rd and 24th, space agency heads and senior officials from the ten BRICS nations gathered in Bengaluru, India, to attend their latest high-level discussions on outer space. The group considered the idea of a Space Council that has been primarily advocated for by Russia since 2024 as an entity that can facilitate more complex and costly cooperation between the member states.

Inter-imperialist rivalry over Space runs counter to the UN Outer Space Treaty (OSP) which defines Outer Space as being “for the benefit and in the interests of all countries and shall be the province of all mankind”.

The UN OSP is already being violated by imperialist interests. The commercial colonisation and militarisation of Space must be condemned by all of humanity. 

 

Report from Sri Lanka

Written by: MLND on 30 Jue 2026

 

(Above: source MLND)

The following report is by comrades of the New Democratic Marxist-Leninist Part of Sri Lanka. In 2022, widespread demonstrations led to the overthrow of the SLPP government, and the allegedly “leftist” JVP-NPP was overwhelmingly elected in 2024. It did not, however, dismantle the old state machinery through which the Indian regional expansionists and the US imperialists sought to expand their influence and power. This report provides some details of interest to all in our region – eds.

 

There is now no doubt or secret about the JVP‒NPP sell out to the US and India. As the US acts to consolidate its military footprint, India focuses on its economic hold and buying influence among the country’s elite.

On 23rd June the Sri Lanka Air Force received ten discarded Texas-built TH-57 Sea Ranger helicopters under the U.S. Excess Defense Articles program. Two days later, the US formally designated the Sri Lanka Navy as a key partner in its Indo-Pacific strategy. Sri Lanka’s current defence partnership with the US began in November 2025 when its armed forces paired with the Montana National Guard under the State Partnership Program covering assistance with high-tech communications, transfer of decommissioned US naval vessels, capacity building at naval bases, high level military visits, strategic consultations, defence agreements and joint naval exercises like the series of joint activities conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Sri Lanka Coast Guard. 

The US, owning Sri Lanka’s largest export market, uses the advantage to bully Sri Lanka. When the US recently imposed tariffs on exports, Sri Lanka pleaded for mercy only to submit to the demands of the US. The US seeks to promote a role for its private investors in Sri Lanka’s ports, aviation and digital sectors. Notably, energy is a sector in which the US has demanded a larger share since early this decade, something that the JVP‒NPP had vehemently opposed until assuming power. 

India is seeking economic and trade integration to enhance its economic grip. Indian FDI in Sri Lanka, involving heavy investments in energy, fuel retail, luxury hotels and automotive manufacturing, has reached $2.8 billion. Plans are afoot to conduct cross-border trade in the local currencies and expand trade in services, digital commerce and investment beyond the scope of the current Free Trade Agreement (FTA) through a comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). 

India, is also strengthening its position in infrastructural development and connectivity through projects such as the energy hub in Trincomalee, jointly with the UAE and Sri Lanka, the Three Islands Hybrid Renewable Energy Project besides interconnection of power grids of both countries, and drawing Sri Lanka into the Indian digital payment system to facilitate real-time cross-border transactions. Bilateral efforts are afoot to strengthen logistical connections including ferry services and air transport from the Jaffna peninsula. Talks have also been reactivated on a marine bridge.

India has intensified development assistance besides credit assistance. Its support for community development projects in the North and East has now extended to the Hill Country where it is actively seeking influence among the Hill Country Tamil nationality. Its four High Commission offices in the island visibly exploit cultural commonalties to strengthen influence among the Tamil-Hindu elite.

India has often used the ‘China threat’ to promote its expansionist schemes in South Asia, and seeks to bring Sri Lanka under a common South Asian security umbrella. Pretexts of maritime security, counterterrorism, and regional stability serve to strengthen strategic collaboration.

Matters have passed the point of persuading the JVP‒NPP government to reverse its treacherous path of surrendering the sovereignty of the country to the main imperialist power and the regional hegemon. The government is unlikely to fulfil any of its pledges but for selectively punishing past perpetrators of economic and social crimes, using the draconian PTA which it pledged to scrap. The government is also bound to rely heavily on the state machinery and the chauvinist clergy for its survival.

It is for the progressive left and democratic forces to awaken the public to the harsh reality of the JVP‒NPP government and mobilise the masses for genuine revolutionary action for national salvation and social justice.