Sri Lanka: President Mahinda Rajapakse concedes defeat in election – World Socialist Web Site
www.wsws.org/en/articles/2015/01/09/slel-j09.html
The line-up of forces with Sirisena and the election result itself are the outcome of a behind-the-scenes intervention by the Obama administration. Decisions were made in Washington that Rajapakse had to be ousted in order to shift Sri Lankan foreign policy away from the close relations that his government developed with China, which included expanding military ties. The intervention flowed directly from the aggressive US “pivot to Asia,” which amounts to a concerted diplomatic, economic and military offensive to undermine Beijing’s influence throughout the Asia-Pacific region and to prepare for war against China.