Modi, Dissanayake agree to speed up security cooperation agreement; India to provide defence platforms, assets to Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan president sends message to China, vows not to let his nation’s territory to be used against India.

New Delhi: India will provide military hardware to Sri Lanka to augment the neighbouring island nation’s defence capabilities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Anura Kumar Dissanayake announced on Monday, apart from agreeing to expedite a bilateral agreement on security cooperation.

They also agreed that the issue of alleged encroachment by the fishermen of India and Sri Lanka into each other’s waters would be addressed in a humanitarian manner, factoring the livelihood concerns. They stressed the need to avoid any aggressive behaviour or violence.

“We are in full agreement that our security interests are interconnected. We have decided to quickly finalise the security cooperation agreement. We have also agreed to cooperate on hydrography,” Modi said after a meeting with the Sri Lankan president in New Delhi. Dissanayake, on the other hand, reassured Modi that Sri Lanka would never allow its territory to be used for “any activity that could be adversarial to the security interests of India or might pose a threat to the stability of the region”.

The promise of the Sri Lankan president, known to be a leftist nationalist, about being sensitive to the security interests of India was significant, given Beijing’s bid to pull the Indian Ocean nations into its orbit of geopolitical influence and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s increasing forays in the region.

Modi and Dissanayake agreed to intensify defence collaboration through joint exercises, joint maritime surveillance, and defence dialogue and exchanges.

India will extend assistance to strengthen the capabilities of Sri Lanka on disaster mitigation, relief, and rehabilitation, including through training, joint exercises, and sharing of best practices, to enhance capacity building and training for the island nation’s defence forces and conduct tailor-made training programmes, the two leaders decided.

Dissanayake arrived in New Delhi for a state visit on Sunday as he chose India as the destination of his first foreign tour after taking over as the president of Sri Lanka on September 23 this year. He and Modi witnessed the signing of a protocol amending the agreement between the two governments for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion concerning taxes on income.

Modi and Dissanayake discussed reconstruction and reconciliation in Sri Lanka. Dissanayake apprised Modi of “his inclusive perspective”.

“We hope that the Sri Lankan government shall fulfill the aspirations of the Tamil people (of Sri Lanka) and shall fulfil its commitment towards fully implementing the Constitution of Sri Lanka and conducting the provincial council elections,” Modi said as he and Dissanayake addressed media-persons after the meeting in New Delhi.

He, however, avoided specifically asking Colombo to implement the Sri Lankan constitution’s 13th amendment, which had its roots in the agreement that New Delhi had in July 1987 signed with Colombo to protect the interests of the minority Tamils of the Indian Ocean nation. Dissanayake’s party Janatha Vimukhti Peramuna, known for its leftist nationalist ideology, opposed the agreement between Sri Lanka and India and had burnt its copies in the past.

The joint statement issued after the meeting between the two leaders also avoided any specific reference to the implementation of the Sri Lankan constitution’s 13th amendment for devolution of power.

Dissanayake told Modi about the huge mandate his National People’s Power coalition received in the presidential and parliamentary elections from all the regions and communities of Sri Lanka.

Modi reaffirmed India's continued commitment to support Sri Lanka in its economic stabilisation efforts.

“He (Modi) further assured President Dissanayake that India's approach would be investment-based and grant-oriented to reduce the debt burden on Sri Lanka, and to assist them in generating economic opportunities that are long-term and sustainable,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told journalists later.

Though New Delhi’s support to Sri Lanka during the financial crisis in the island nation helped it win back the clout it had lost to Beijing in the neighbouring Indian Ocean country, India was worried about the course of the bilateral relations after Dissanayake succeeded Ranil Wickremesinghe after the presidential elections in September.

Modi also told Dissanayake that India would supply liquefied natural gas to Sri Lanka's power plants and would work on connecting the power grids of the two countries in addition to embarking on a project to lay a petroleum pipeline between the two neighbours.