In the Great Game being played across the Indian Ocean, the U.S. Navy has its eye on Sri Lanka's northeastern port of Trincomalee to serve as a logistics hub for South Asian waters churned by India, Japan and China.
Western diplomats in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, noted an upping of the stakes when a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier from the U.S. 7th Fleet dropped anchor early this month at Trincomalee, the world's second deepest natural harbor with great strategic value. The visit of USS John C. Stennis followed a Trincomalee port call in August by another 7th Fleet vessel and a unit of marines to assess logistical support for visiting U.S. ships.
