New Delhi: Amid concerns over Chinese footprints that grow in Sri Lanka, the island country wants to improve defense and security relationships with India with an integrated state strategy paper compiled under the High Commissioner of Milinda Moragoda, which finally accepts here at 30 August, call for significantly increasing cooperation.
Joint military exercises that are often and more high-level military exchanges, utilization of counter-terrorism counter-terrorism of Indian terrorism, increasing the power of the defense advisory office staff and resolving problems that are politically sensitive from the people moved (Sri Layan Tamils) who live in Tamil Nadu, are some of the actions described in this paper.
The Office of High Commissioner Lanka remained empty since January 2020.
Moragoda was named last year, only now because he has taken an official assignment.
This period coincided with several serious turbulences in bilateral bonds after Sri Lanka’s decision to unilaterally disposed of India and Japan from the East Colombo container terminal project that the three countries agreed to jointly develop in the tripartite agreement.
India was then forced to openly remind Sri Lanka from the need to comply with international commitments.
The closeness of the Rajapaksa family clearly to China then triggers “trust deficit ‘at several times.
Moragoda is now trying to overcome the same thing through a strategy proposal before President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Describes the main tasks for Lanka mission in India, proposals try to increase the partnership to the level Strategically by expanding bilateral cooperation in the defense and security of Indian Maritime Maritime and said this will protect the strategic interests of Sri Lanka.
India in 2019 announced a $ 50 million special credit for counter-terrorism activities, as a paper record, Sri Lanka has not made use.
“Looking for useful ways to utilize this special credit line will be important.
It can be understood that more credit lines in the defense sector are in the pipe, “he said.
Among the main implementation assignments for Lanka mission secure and fully utilize all docked places offered by the Indian Ministry of Defense and seeking new training opportunities with Indian and police paramilitary forces.
Recognizing there is a growth in deficit of trust because of “changes in geo-political ” balance, the paper demands beyond the transactional approach that has dominated bilateral relations.