Sri Lanka, Feb. 13 -- In a high-level hearing before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, a top official of the US State Department underscored the critical strategic importance of Sri Lanka to global energy security and maritime commerce.

The HFAC SCA Subcommittee Hearing on "South Asia: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Region," outlined a comprehensive strategy to protect vital waterways from external coercion and "debt-trap diplomacy".

The subcommittee highlighted the Indian Ocean as one of the world's busiest maritime corridors, carrying what Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga described as the "lifeblood of global commerce and energy".

During his opening statement, the Chairman cited a critical statistic:...