Patrick Mendis
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Articles by Patrick Mendis
The Mahaweli doctrine
Water as foreign policy in Sri Lanka’s national renaissance If King Parakramabahu I were alive today, he might ask: has Sri Lanka forgotten the foreign policy that once made the island prosperous, secure, and connected to the wider world? The great King understood that water, commerce, and diplomacy were inseparable.
What Minnesota taught a Buddhist-Catholic immigrant about America at 250
As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, I find myself reflecting on a question that has shaped much of my life: What sustains a republic so that it does not turn its power against its people? For me, the answer begins in Minnesota. When I arrived in the resort town of Perham in northern Minnesota as its first American Field Service (AFS) exchange student from Sri Lanka in the late 1970s, I brought with me the values of two spiritual traditions.
The Vatican triangle: The Holy See, Poland, and Sri Lanka
View(s): By Prof. Patrick Mendis KRAKÓW, Poland: As the famous idiom goes, “all roads lead to Rome”; however, few places illustrate this connection more vividly than Sri Lanka—the “Grand Central Station of the Indian Ocean” that has connected cultures, religions, empires, and ideas for millennia. Among the most fascinating yet least-explored chapters of this story is the trilateral relationship linking Sri Lanka, the Holy See, and Poland.
Patrick Mendis: What Ed Burdick taught me about American history — and why it matters now
KRAKOW, Poland — Half a world away from St. Paul, walking along the Vistula River, I find myself thinking about Minnesota. More precisely, I think about the venerated “Voice of the House” that once echoed through the State Capitol. It belonged to the late Honorable Edward Burdick, longtime parliamentarian and chief clerk of the Minnesota House of Representatives. For many, he was the institutional memory of Minnesota government.
Forever Hero Herath: Remembering a JVP Sahodaraya on the 55th Anniversary
Smokes over Beirut: Israel’s Ceasefire Attack on Hezbollah in Lebanon After threatening to annihilate one of the planet’s oldest civilizations, TACO* Trump chickened out again by grasping the ceasefire lifeline that Pakistan had assiduously prepared. Trump needed the ceasefire badly to stem the mounting opposition to the war in America. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu wanted the war to continue because he needed it badly for his political survival.
President Trump Wants Greenland. Why Not Antarctica?
The commotion over the world’s biggest island may be a prelude to a potential conflict over the “Continent of Peace.” The new US National Security Strategy calls to “restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere.” In effect—and in line with the 19th century Monroe Doctrine—Washington has returned to viewing the Western Hemisphere as its strategic “backyard.” The recently released National Defense Strategy further reinforced this approach by emphasizing the “US military and commercial...
Opinion: Perham in the U.S.-China trade war: Will soybeans “Make America Great Again”? Original
When I visited Perham this summer, my dear high school friend, who is a highly successful farmer, took me on a tour of his vast agricultural lands of some 50,000 acres of “God-given blessings” in the breadbasket of the American heartland.
Trump tariffs put Minnesota soybean farmers at risk
When I visited Perham, the town in northern Minnesota where I grew up, this summer, my dear high school friend, a successful farmer, took me on a tour of his 50,000 acres of “God-given blessings” in the breadbasket of America — soybeans. This bounty has, however, put him at risk since China, the largest buyer of American soybeans, threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on soybeans after President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods.
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India’s MIDWIFE Strategy: Will It Suffice to Counterbalance China?
India’s emerging “MIDWIFE” strategy reflects a calculated response to China’s growing regional assertiveness, balancing autonomy with deepening ties to the United States and Indo-Pacific allies. As China tightens its geopolitical grip, New Delhi is leveraging demography, diplomacy, and defence to quietly shape a multipolar regional order.
Minnesota is more than the ‘Land of Vice Presidents’
When the buzzword of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz swirled around the world as the vice-presidential running mate for Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, I was on a lecture tour in Sri Lanka – the country of my birth. An “adopted Minnesotan,” having Perham as my “birthplace” in America, I was widely asked about Walz and his credentials. I was delightfully affirmative: he is a life-long geography teacher, a high school football coach, and a great public servant.
The Dragon and Phoenix: How Beijing is Winning Battles in Its “Peaceful War” with the United States - Australian Institute of International Affairs
Beijing has discretely employed a “red thread,” dragon and phoenix strategy to compete in the sea and air with its global rival—the United States. Following the Chinese mythology of the invisible red thread—which connects those who are destined to meet—China has been expanding its spheres of political influence, displaying military power, and strengthening economic linkages. Peaceful War?
Editorial: The odyssey with Minnesota’s ‘Gandhi of Sri Lanka’
When Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne was honored with the Hubert Humphrey International Humanitarian Award at the University of Minnesota in 1994, I hailed him as the “Gandhi of Sri Lanka.” Dr. Ari — as he was known globally — left us on April 16 at 92. However, his message of “the awakening of individual personality for human progress” remains a living legacy for posterity.
M State Alumnus Appointed to the National Security Education Board
President Joe Biden has appointed Dr. Patrick Mendis – an alumnus of Perham High School, M State at Fergus Falls, and the University of Minnesota – as an advisor to the U.S. National Security Education Board (NSEB), according to a press release by the White House. Mendis, an “adopted Minnesotan” by the late Bill and Dorothy Johnson of Perham, is a former American Field Service exchange student at PHS.
Beijing’s Diplomacy of Anger at Taiwan: How the Chinese Art of War Avoids Red Lines - Australian Institute of International Affairs
China draws lessons from the past mistakes, cooling down tensions with the United States just one month before the Taiwan presidential elections in January 2024. For Taiwan, however, China’s military exercises inch closer. On the sidelines of the APEC Summit in November 2023, President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden held talks in San Francisco, agreeing to resume military-to-military communications.
China's Growing Influence in America's Backyard
Aside from the politics of the U.S.-Mexico border and illegal immigration, the Caribbean Sea is America’s “other” southern border and the gateway to the Western Hemisphere. U.S. foreign policy in the Caribbean, which it traditionally considered its “backyard,” is also an extension of domestic politics. It largely begins with Cuba and ends with Venezuela while neglecting the rest of the “small” but strategic island nations of the Caribbean Basin.
VESSEL REVIEW | Bad Deutsch-Altenburg – Low-emission vessel for Danube maintenance works - Baird Maritime
Viadonau, the Austrian government agency tasked with maintenance and development of the Danube River, has taken delivery of a new shallow-draught workboat built by Erlenbacher Schiffswerft of Germany. The vessel is named Bad Deutsch-Altenburg after a town in Lower Austria that also serves as its home port. Its duties will include marking of waterways and maintenance of buoys and other aids to navigation to ensure the safe passage of vessel traffic through the Danube.
VESSEL REVIEW | Calypso – Hybrid cable-layer joins Van Oord’s installation fleet - Baird Maritime
Netherlands-based offshore installation specialist Van Oord has taken delivery of a new cable-laying vessel built by Norwegian shipyard Vard. Calypso is the second cable-lay vessel to join Van Oord’s current active fleet and will be operated in support of offshore wind farm construction activities.
VESSEL REVIEW | Zhang Jing 10 – New suction dredger to be deployed on Yangtze River - Baird Maritime
China’s Yangtze River Waterway Bureau recently took delivery of a new large suction dredger from Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding. Built to a design by the 708 Research Institute of the China Shipbuilding Group, Zhang Jing 10 (“Long Whale 10”) will be used primarily for maintenance dredging of the 12.5-metre-deep middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River but may also be deployed for dredging works in coastal areas.
VESSEL REVIEW | Rera As – Durable crewboat to support Japanese offshore wind operations - Baird Maritime
Hokuyo Kaiun, a vessel operating company under Japan’s the NYK Group, will soon commence operations of a newly acquired catamaran crewboat built for windfarm support duties. Named Rera As after the translation of “wind blows” in the northern Japanese indigenous Ainu language, the crewboat will be operated by Hokuyo Kaiun in support of Siemens Gamesa under a time-charter contract.
VESSEL REVIEW | Sihang Yongxing – Large semi-submersible transport barge enters service in China - Baird Maritime
China’s Jiangmen Hangtong Shipping Industry recently handed over a new shallow-draught, semi-submersible heavy transport vessel built to a design by CCCC Fourth Navigation Bureau. Sihang Yongxing is classed by China Classification Society, which claims the vessel is the largest flat shallow-draught semi-submersible transport barge currently in operation.
China’s "blue dragon" strategy in the Indo-Pacific - Baird Maritime
To compete strategically with the United States and undermine President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide-and-conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of Beijing’s comprehensive plan can be described as a “blue dragon” strategy, anchored primarily between two “unsinkable aircraft carriers”, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
China’s ‘Blue Dragon’ Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
To compete strategically with the United States and undermine President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide-and-conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of Beijing’s comprehensive plan can be described as a ‘blue dragon’ strategy, anchored primarily between two ‘unsinkable aircraft carriers’, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Slaying the blue dragon - Openforum
To compete strategically with the United States and undermine President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide-and-conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of Beijing’s comprehensive plan can be described as a ‘blue dragon’ strategy, anchored primarily between two ‘unsinkable aircraft carriers’, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
China’s ‘blue dragon’ strategy in the Indo-Pacific
To compete strategically with the United States and undermine President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide-and-conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of Beijing’s comprehensive plan can be described as a ‘blue dragon’ strategy, anchored primarily between two ‘unsinkable aircraft carriers’, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
China’s Secret “Blue Dragon” Strategy: Can the US Containment Policy Succeed? - Australian Institute of International Affairs
Patrick Mendis and Antonina Luszczykiewicz To compete strategically with the United States (US) and undermine Washington’s Indo-Pacific policy, China has quietly been advancing its stealthy divide and conquer foreign policy agenda on four different but connected frontiers. The core of this comprehensive plan can be described as China’s “Blue Dragon” strategy, which is primarily anchored between two “unsinkable aircraft carriers,” Sri Lanka and Taiwan.
Tajwan poza ONZ. Dlaczego to problem dla Polski?
W związku z trwającą 78. sesją Zgromadzenia Ogólnego Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych (ONZ) jedna kwestia powraca jak bumerang: wykluczenie 24-milionowego demokratycznego Tajwanu z ONZ pod presją Pekinu. Choć Tajpej leży ponad pięć tysięcy kilometrów od Warszawy, sprawa ta ma poważne konsekwencje także dla Polski. „Cóż tam, panie, w polityce? Chińcyki trzymają się mocno!?” – tymi słowami rozpoczyna się bodaj najsłynniejszy polski dramat.
Tajwan poza ONZ. Dlaczego to problem dla Polski?
„Cóż tam, panie, w polityce? Chińcyki trzymają się mocno!?” – tymi słowami rozpoczyna się bodaj najsłynniejszy polski dramat. Kreśląc pierwsze słowa „Wesela” ponad 120 lat temu, Stanisław Wyspiański dobrze wiedział, że Chinom – targanym wówczas powstaniem wymierzonym zarówno w rządzącą dynastę, jak i w obcokrajowców – należy się uważnie przyglądać. Mając z tyłu głowy hasło „Ukraina dziś, Tajwan jutro”, obecnie świat także zerka z niepokojem w stronę Chin.
Why the World Needs a Democratic Taiwan at the UN
Taipei’s lobbying to include the 24-million democratic island nation of Taiwan in the upcoming UN General Assembly this month in New York will most likely upset China. With the continuing support for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in the UN system” and other international organizations (IOs), the United States’ engagement in Taiwan Strait relations may also take another turning point in the Sino-American rivalry and the Indo-Pacific defense posture.
China’s “Blue Dragon” Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
China’s “Blue Dragon” Strategy in the Indo-Pacific As China expands upon the seas, India may find its traditional middle-path foreign policy is a luxury it can no longer afford. Read Full Article »
China’s “Blue Dragon” Strategy in the Indo-Pacific Makes America and India Restless
In his recent critical Foreign Affairs essay, “America’s Bad Bet on India,” Ashley J. Tellis argued that the Biden administration’s India policy is “misplaced.” He accused Washington of overlooking “India’s democratic erosion” because the United States needs a reliable partner in South Asia to challenge the rise of China. The article’s perceptive analysis of the U.S.-India security partnership notes that the relationship is hardly based on mutually assured democratic trust.
The United States Must Rejoin UNESCO to Compete with China
Beijing has taken advantage of America’s absence to push forward its foreign policy agenda. It’s time for Washington to fight back. As the eyes of the world are focused on the Russian war in Ukraine, the United States has launched a silent war over international organizations to compete with China. The first battle over the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has just begun.
Making the Indian Ocean into the “Western Ocean”
China’s Long March to Historic Glory By Dr. Patrick Mendis With its assertive foreign policy, China has been striving increasingly to become a maritime superpower to replace the United States in the Indo-Pacific region.
Can America Prevent an Invasion of Taiwan?
Can America Prevent an Invasion of Taiwan? Destroying Taiwan’s semiconductor industries could do more damage to Taiwan than China by undermining Taiwan’s political and economic survival. Read Full Article »
The Power of Autocratic Regimes Amid a Waning Democracy
Now that President Joe Biden has declared “America is back,” the United States should rejoin one of the most important international organizations that mirror America’s founding vision for the world: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
Johnson-Mendis Scholarship established for Perham High School students
× Dr. Patrick Mendis (middle) at his 1986 graduation ceremony of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis with his American "parents," Bill and Dorothy Johnson (left) and his friends Joyce and John Haverland (right) of Perham.
Surrendering Taiwan (And Sri Lanka) Could Cause US To Suffer Its Own Century Of Humiliation
By Patrick Mendis and Corey Lee Bell – In the popular narrative of the Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain in the wake of the First Opium War (1839-42). It ushered in a century of humiliation in which China was picked apart and forced to make degrading concessions to foreign powers. This historic event marked the most pivotal juncture of an epoch-making transformation in China.
The Man from Ceylon, the Lodestar for Our Nation
TAIPEI, Taiwan — In the early morning of April 20, I awoke in Taiwan to a dreaded phone call from Minnesota to learn about the passing of Walter “Fritz” Mondale, the former vice president to President Jimmy Carter. Born in Ceylon, a small town in southern Minnesota, Mondale lived to 93 — having served as a Minnesota attorney general, United States senator and ambassador to Japan.
America Has a Perception Problem in the Indo-Pacific Region
In the popular narrative of Chinese history, the Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain in the wake of the First Opium War (1839–42). It ushered in a century of humiliation in which China was picked apart and forced to make degrading concessions to foreign powers. This historic event marked the most pivotal juncture of an epoch-making transformation in China.
The man from Ceylon, the lodestar for our nation: Remembering Walter Mondale
In the early morning of April 20, I awoke in Taiwan to a dreaded phone call from Minnesota to learn about the passing of Walter “Fritz” Mondale, the former vice president to President Jimmy Carter. Born in Ceylon, a small town in southern Minnesota, Mondale lived to 93 — having also served as a Minnesota attorney general, U.S. senator, and ambassador to Japan. Indeed, Mondale and I hardly had anything in common — except we were destined to share history through Ceylon and Taiwan.
Target Taiwan: Why China Is Desperate for Control of Taipei
On the eve of President Joe Biden’s unofficial delegation arrived in the self-governed nation of Taiwan, in mid-April 2021, the Chinese military began live-fire drills in waters off the island’s southwest coast for the duration of the visit. China also sent a “record number” of twenty-five military aircraft—including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers—over the island’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on the first day.
Glimpse of the Past: Legendary legislative clerk grew up in Vernon Center
The late Honorable Edward A. Burdick was “the Voice of the House” for several generations of legislators in Minnesota until he died 10 years ago this month. He was a trusted friend to 16 House speakers — Democrats and Republicans — as well as over 1,000 legislators, processing more than 80,000 bill introductions and witnessing over 23,000 new laws signed by the governor. Burdick never married but was a committed public servant wedded to an institution. Former Gov.
The Trick to Challenging China in the Post-Trump Era
The Biden White House released its “Interim National Security Strategic Guidance” in early March 2021. The INSS Guidance lays the foundation for President Joe Biden’s foreign policy vision and his administration’s mission to reverse the course sustained over the past four years of former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The voice of Burdick: The North Star of our time
The late Honorable Edward A. Burdick was “the Voice of the House” for several generations of legislators in Minnesota until he died 10 years ago this month. He was a trusted friend to 16 different speakers — Democrats and Republicans — as well as more than 1,000 legislators, processing more than 80,000 bill introductions and witnessing more than 23,000 new laws signed by the governor. Burdick never married but was a committed public servant wedded to an institution. Former Gov.
Test of Endurance: Why America Will Stand By India
Until recently, it is not a public secret that the United States considers India as one of its most important allies in the evolving American rivalry with China in the Indo-Pacific region.
Damage Control Dilemma: How Can Biden Best Repair America’s Tarnished Image?
Over the last four years, President Donald Trump has cut the budget for America’s global engagement and canceled a year’s worth of study abroad and service programs due to the coronavirus pandemic. President Joe Biden must now make it his agenda to rejuvenate U.S. international educational and cultural programs for the sake of national security and American prestige around the world.
China Is Touting Its Totalitarianism Taming of the Coronavirus Over U.S. Democratic Failure
For months, President Donald Trump and his White House advisor Larry Kudlow continually touted that the United States was on a V-shaped economic recovery, suggesting a swift upward turn to pre-pandemic levels in the midst of his administration’s failure to manage the economy and the coronavirus pandemic. In June 2020, Trump said that “this is better than a V. This is a rocket ship.
To Balance China, Joe Biden Should Build Upon Trump’s India Strategy
President Donald Trump’s “America First” ethos has permanently aligned India within the United States’ overarching Indo-Pacific strategy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unique personal chemistry with Trump has resulted in a pivotal geostrategic calculus to challenge the rise of restless China. It is no coincidence that President-elect Joe Biden selected Senator Kamala Harris—a descendant of Indian heritage—as his running mate.
Leave Donald Trump’s Triumphant Taiwan Policy Alone
TAIPEI, Taiwan — After defeating Donald Trump in the recent presidential election, presumptive President-elect Joe Biden wasted no time announcing a team consisting of alumni from the Obama administration to develop his national security and foreign policy. It appears that the Biden administration is eager to press the reset button on many of Trump’s signature policy platforms in these areas.
Would Joe Biden Go to War to Stop a Chinese Invasion of Taiwan?
Now that the United States presidential election has drawn to a close with Joe Biden as president-elect, there is a grave concern in Taipei that “a return of Obama-era foreign policy advisers in a potential Biden administration” could mean “a more conciliatory” approach toward China and “less supportive of Taiwan” compared to the Trump administration. In fact, it hardly mattered who won the election.
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