India`s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday declared his desire for a "quantum jump" in relations with Sri Lanka, as New Delhi jostles with regional rival Beijing for influence in the island nation. India had always considered its smaller neighbour to be within its sphere of influence but watched Sri Lanka drift closer to China under former strongman President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Modi`s visit to Sri Lanka — his second since coming to power in 2014 — is being seen as New Delhi`s attempt to win back support and counter Beijing`s push for closer ties with the Indian Ocean nation. Modi believes that this is the time of great opportunity in Indian ties with Sri Lanka. An opportunity to achieve a quantum jump in our partnership across different fields," Modi told a Buddhist conference in Colombo. His comments came as Sri Lanka rebuffed a Chinese request to dock a submarine at one of its ports. Chinese-backed projects soared under Rajapaksa, who relied heavily on Beijing for economic and diplomatic support as Western nations threatened his administration with sanctions over atrocities committed during the decades-long civil war which ended in 2009. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in January 2015 promising to review Chinese-funded projects signed by his predecessor and rebuild ties with India.