COLOMBO
Amid persisting questions from the political Opposition and media about Sri Lanka’s latest defence sector Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India, the federal government has requested these searching for extra info to make use of the nation’s Right To Information (RTI) Act.
Addressing a media briefing earlier this week, Cabinet spokesperson Nalinda Jayatissa stated some of the contents of the MoU can’t be launched with out India’s consent. The political Opposition, together with the primary Opposition bloc Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB or United People’s Power), has accused the Anura Kumara Dissanayake administration of “secrecy” and demanded that the MoUs signed with India be tabled in Parliament.
The MoU pertaining to the defence sector was one of seven signed throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to Sri Lanka from April 4 to six. Others spanned areas equivalent to vitality co-operation, digital initiatives, and well being. During the go to, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri instructed presspersons that the defence sector MoU is an “umbrella agreement” offering a framework to pursue ongoing defence sector cooperation in a extra “structured” method.
In his assertion through the go to, PM Modi stated he was “grateful to President Dissanayake for his sensitivity towards India’s interests.” “We believe that we have shared security interests. The security of both countries is interconnected and co-dependent,” he stated.
Retired civil servant Austin Fernando, who has served as Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, noticed “Indian defence interests were exposed” in PM Modi’s remarks. “Do we share the much-critiqued Akhanda Bharat concept? Do we endorse Indian-Russian-American-Israeli security and defence interlinks as ours too? Do we connect with Sino-Indian clashes? We may have reservations,” he wrote in a latest newspaper column. Some different columnists argued that the MoU signalled a doable shift from the federal government’s “non-aligned” international coverage.
The scrutiny of the MoU started in Sri Lanka even earlier than Mr. Modi arrived in Colombo. Ahead of the state go to, Indian media reported that “a major defence pact” or “key defence deal” was to be signed with Sri Lanka, triggering scepticism amongst media commentators in Colombo.
The highlight has solely grown after the go to. Addressing a rally within the southern city of Galle days after Mr. Modi’s go to, President Dissanayake stated the defence MoU signed with India “simply formalises ongoing joint operations and training sessions with India”. Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath clarified that it was a “non-binding MoU”, and never a “pact”.
An official supply from Sri Lanka, acquainted with the bilateral discussions on the MoU, instructed The Hindu: “Sri Lanka has nothing to worry about. As far as India is concerned, there has been a lot of baggage from its earlier interventions,” the supply stated, referring to the function of the Indian Peace Keeping Force and Operation Poomalai, carried out by the Indian Air Force to airdrop meals in Jaffna, within the late Nineteen Eighties. “Now it is time to move on, considering the strategic realities of today,” the supply stated, requesting anonymity citing the sensitivity of the difficulty.
In its editorial final weekend, the extensively learn Sunday Times famous that the MoUs pertaining to the ‘Energy Hub’ proposal within the strategically positioned japanese district of Trincomalee, and ‘defence cooperation’ “have raised uncomfortable questions” in Sri Lanka following Mr. Modi’s go to. “And what is most intriguing is why, when the Indian PM himself and commentators in Delhi are gaga over the MoUs, the Sri Lankan President and his government are maintaining a deafening silence — hiding them from the public?” the newspaper contended, urging the federal government to make the MoUs public.
Meanwhile, it’s unclear if the MoU, pitched as a framework to formalise ongoing cooperation in personnel coaching and intelligence sharing, particularly addresses the realm of allowing analysis vessels from China, a problem that has remained delicate to Delhi.
Recently, some Indian media claimed {that a} proposed joint naval train of Pakistan and Sri Lanka was referred to as off, after Colombo “refused” to entertain the request. The stories sought to hyperlink the “decision” to the lately signed MoU. However, the Sri Lankan facet was fast to disclaim the stories. Ministry of Defence spokesperson Colonel Nalin Herath instructed The Hindu: “There was no cancellation of such a joint exercise. We had a Pakistani Naval vessel call at a Colombo Port in March.” The official media launch of the Sri Lankan Navy on the time stated Pakistan Navy Ship (PNS) Aslat engaged in “a successful passage exercise” with its patrol vessel SLNS Samudura.
Published – April 25, 2025 03:45 am IST
