At Sri Lanka's southern tip...Less than 2 miles down the coast, towering blue-and-white cranes dwarf the lighthouse, as does a contemporary glass and stucco office building — the Chinese headquarters of a sprawling new port complex...

...Beijing has bankrolled infastructure projects in dozens of countries... The difference in Hambantota is that the Chinese state-owned operator physically took control of the port in late 2017 — on a 99-year lease — after the Sri Lankan government defaulted on its loans...

..."Many Sri Lankans see all this construction, and they're proud of their district having these facilities. What people don't seem to understand are issues of environmental impact, human rights and labor," says Bhavani Fonseka, a lawyer at the Centre for Policy Alternatives... 

...While many U.S. and Indian officials decry Hambantota as an example of Chinese "debt diplomacy," some Sri Lankan observers say their country's politicians are more to blame. Corruption allegedly facilitated deals that ultimately delivered Hambantota into Chinese hands.

...Hambantota port was built in the home district of then-President Rajapaksa. He commissioned it, and the Chinese port authority allegedly paid millions in kickbacks to his reelection campaign, which he lost in 2015. Rajapaksa denies receiving Chinese kickbacks, but rival politicians in parliament are investigating...