{"id":109378,"date":"2020-12-05T16:37:20","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T23:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109378"},"modified":"2020-12-05T16:37:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T23:37:20","slug":"the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7h","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/05\/the-pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7h\/","title":{"rendered":"THE POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C7h"},"content":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

During\nYahapalana rule, there was much emphasis on the Sri Lanka navy. The Sri Lankan\nNavy is a well-trained and professional force with the potential to contribute\nto multi-lateral maritime interoperability in the Indian Ocean, said US\nIndo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Philip Davidson in 2019.The US Indo-Pacific command would focus in 2019 on increasing\nnavy-to-navy engagement with Sri Lanka. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before that,\nofficers of the US 7th Fleet and Sri Lanka Navy met at the Naval Headquarters\nin May 2017 for discussions. Such discussions were important for furthering\nmutual cooperation between the two navies, they said. US Captain Brian Anderson\n\u2018expressed his contentment over a range of matters including bilateral\ncooperation. A Sri Lanka Marine Corps was set up with US help in 2017. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S.\nCoast Guard gave a high endurance cutter, formerly the USCGC Sherman, to the\nSri Lankan Navy in August 2018 at Honolulu. The cutter, a gift from the people\nof the United States, will be the largest ship in the Sri Lankan fleet said the\nmedia. It measures 115 meters long and when fully staffed carries a crew of 167\nThe ship will increase Sri Lanka\u2019s ability to patrol its Exclusive Economic\nZone, providing additional security for ships from all nations that transit the\nbusy sea lanes of the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The public\nwere surprised to hear that Yahapalana planned to expand the Sri Lanka\nnavy,  in keeping with the SLN\u2019s\nMaritime strategy 2025. Sri Lanka plans to build a 20-ship Navy by 2025. Why\ndo you need a peacetime fleet bigger than one available during the conflict,\nasked the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The Navy authorities replied  that is was necessary to meet present and\nfuture maritime surveillance, patrolling as well as search-and-rescue\nneeds.  Even in the absence of war, we\nneed a larger fleet to guarantee our maritime rights and interests and also to\nmeet our international obligations. Our SAR (Search and Rescue) region is\nnearly 27 times that of land area therefore an expanded fleet is necessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nYahapalana government  said in 2016  that it was the duty of the Sri Lanka navy to\nprotect the entire Indian Ocean region without limiting its operation to the\nexclusive economic zone of Sri Lanka. \nThat will help Sri Lanka be an economic hub in the Indian Ocean\nregion.  Our navy cannot even protect us\nfrom the Indian fishermen, observed Tissa Vitharana. If Sri Lanka navy is to\ncarry out this huge responsibility, then US ships will have to be berthed in\nSri Lanka.  The US 7th fleet will come to\nTrincomalee.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several ships\nfrom the US 7th fleet  arrived in Sri\nLanka during Yahapalana time. US navy ship USS Blue Ridge<\/em>, the flagship of the US 7th<\/sup> fleet, arrived in\nColombo in March 2016 on a goodwill visit, with over 900 sailors. President\nSirisena visited the ship and was received with a US navy military guard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  Blue\nRidge<\/em> visit emphasized public relations one. The American sailors would\npaint walls, repair furniture, build playground equipment and serve food to the\nneedy at a community centre.  The US 7th<\/sup>\nfleet band would perform free at Viharamaha Devi park and elsewhere, and the\nperformance will include a join performance with the Sri Lanka navy band,\nannounced the media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USS New Orleans<\/em>  a heavy cruiser ship, visited   in July 2016. US war ship USS Frank Cable<\/em>, a submarine tender\nvessel visited in August 2016. This ship \nprovided maintenance and support for US Navy submarines in the 5th<\/sup>\nand 7 fleets. In Sri Lanka  Its sailors\nwere to volunteer at an animal shelter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US navy Poseidon<\/em> aircraft, an advanced US\nmaritime patrol aircraft, left Mattala in December 2016 after a week of\nconsultation and expert exchange with Sri Lanka military personnel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March 2017, the US Pacific Fleet\u2019s transport ship USNS Fall River<\/em> visited Hambantota on a\nPacific Partnership goodwill mission. It held joint exercises with the navies\nof Sri Lanka, Japan and Australia. USS\n\u2018Comstock\u2019<\/em> , a dock landing ship, arrived \nfor a four day training workshop at Colombo harbour in March 2017.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USA\u2019s  Nimitz Carrier Strike Group  visited Colombo  in October 2017. USS Nimitz<\/em> is a super carrier of the United States Navy, and the\nlead ship of her class. This was the first aircraft carrier to visit\nsince1985.  USS Nimitz  arrived in full formation.   Nimitz   was accompanied by the cruiser USS Princeton<\/em>,  destroyers USS Howard, USS Shoup, USS Pinckney<\/em> and USS Kidd<\/em>. It was parked 150  nautical miles  off Colombo. It was too large to enter Colombo harbor. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amphibious\ntransport dock USS Anchorage<\/em>), and\nthe 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) arrived at Trincomalee Port in August\n2018. Anchorage <\/em>is deployed to the\n7th fleet area of operations to support regional stability, reassure partners\nand allies and maintain a presence postured to respond to any crisis from\nhumanitarian assistance to contingency operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

USS Anchorage<\/em>  was used to test USA\u2019s air logistics hub\nconcept which utilizes Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location in the Indian Ocean to\nensure the quick availability of relief supplies, equipment and other material\nwhen needed by the US and partners.. The\nSri Lankan navy, and the U.S. Embassy have provided tremendous assistance and\ncooperation in developing the first temporary air logistics hub concept in Sri\nLanka, said Anchorage<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In august\n2018 a joint humanitarian assistance mission called Pacific Angel, sponsored by\nthe US Pacific Command (USPACOM) held a\nweek long assistance programme in Jaffna in August 2016. They provided general\nmedical care for approximately 4000 people and renovated six schools. The\nmission operated in Vavuniya, Anuradhapura and Sigiriya. One school assisted was Alagalla School in\nVavuniya. The purpose was to provide humanitarian civic assistance and carry\nout civil-military operations in the Pacific region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were several joint navy exercises.  I will list them chronologically. The 11th\nMarine Expeditionary Unit engaged in a Theatre security Cooperation (TSC) project\nwith the Sri Lankan Navy\u2019s newly formed marine force, In Trincomalee in\nNovember 2016. India observed  that US\nMarines are now training Sri Lanka Special Forces. The US-Sri Lanka  defence partnership seems to be at an all\ntime high. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Navy and Marines and Sri Lankan Navy and Marines launched\nthe annual Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise in\nTrincomalee in October 2107.  US\nnavy  said  \u2018 it was pleased to add\nSri Lanka to our list of CARAT partners in 2017 as part of our larger efforts\nto expand both bilateral and multilateral maritime security engagement across\nthe Indo-Pacific region.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CARAT Sri\nLanka 2017 is part of a series of bilateral CARAT military exercises between\nthe U.S. Navy and the armed forces of Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia,\nMalaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise (Rim\nof the Pacific \u2013 RIMPAC) took place in the Hawaiian Islands and Southern\nCalifornia in June\/August 2018. After 47 years Sri Lanka Navy Marines got the\nopportunity attend RIMPAC. A Sri Lanka media team joined other international\nmedia in documenting the exercise. The\nmany exercises conducted during RIMPAC included the training on the operations\nof an assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard. Participants gained firsthand\nknowledge on how rescue operations are conducted, how victims are brought to\nthe ship and transferred to the ICU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2018\nThe Joint Combined Exchange Training (JCET) exercise between US Naval Special Warfare\nForces personnel and Sri Lanka naval personnel from the 4th Fast Attack\nFlotilla (4FAF) and Special Boat Squadron (SBS) was inaugurated at the Special\nBoat Squadron Training School (SBSTS) in Trincomalee. The programme is held\nannually as part of a mutual understanding and agreements for the training and\nsupport requirements of both countries. The four – week course focused on\ndeveloping professional skills and exchange of knowledge among naval personnel\nof US Naval Special Warfare Forces and Sri Lanka Navy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third\nKDU-CNA Track 1.5 Dialogue on Naval cooperation was held in July 2018 at the\nFaculty of Graduate Studies, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University\n(KDU).The two-day dialogue was a collaborative initiative between KDU and the\nCenter for Naval Analysis (CNA), USA. The KDU-CNA Track 1.5 Dialogue is a\none-of-a-kind discussion that we organize at KDU, facilitating interaction\nbetween the navies of Sri Lanka and the United States, along with the\nparticipation of relevant academics.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This year\u2019s Track 1.5 Dialogue focused on how\nbilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the USA could be further improved in\na variety of spheres and how the global security concerns are influencing the\nrelations between the two countries. Track 1.5 diplomacy is an initiative to\nbring together government and non-governmental actors to discuss on a variety\nof topics that could improve the bilateral relations of countries. As such,\nthis two-day deliberation witnessed the participation of analysts and academics\nalong with naval officials from the navies of both participating countries for\na discussion. Held under the Chatham House Rule, this year\u2019s Dialogue included\nfour main sessions, with the 5th and final session being a wrap-up session with\nthe speakers providing forward-looking, implementable suggestions for Sri Lanka\nand the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last joint US-SL naval exercise,   \u2018Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training\nExercise (CARAT) 2019,\u2019  took place in\nHambantota in  April 2019, with the\nparticipation of hundreds of personnel.    \nThe two US ships participating were Arleigh Burke-class\ndestroyer USS \u2018Spruance\u2019 and Spearhead-class expeditionary fast\ntransport USS \u2018Millinocket,\u2019 which is part of the United States Military\nSealift Command. The 103m long \u2018Millinocket\u2019 has a displacement of 2362\ntons, while \u2018Spruance\u2019 is 155.3m long and has a displacement capacity of 9580\ntons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SLNS Sayurala  and SLNS\nSamudura participated from Sri Lanka. The\nexercise was meant to strengthen the maritime security and cooperation\nthrough small boat handling, diving exercises, anti-terrorist\noperations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lasanda Kurukulasuriya \nobserved in January 2019 the US military carried out what it called a\n\u2018temporary cargo transfer initiative\u2019 where US Air Force planes brought cargo\ninto the Bandaranaike International Airport – which is a commercial airport –\nand transferred supplies to an aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis of the US\n7th Fleet. US embassy statements did not specify where the aircraft carrier\nwas, but reports suggest it was in waters off Trincomalee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 If the US plans to use the\nports of Trincomalee and Colombo as part of a logistics hub to support its\nmilitary activities in the Indian Ocean, the relevance of a high-speed rail\nlink connecting  Trincomalee to Colombo,\nas planned in the MCC ,  becomes clear,\nshe said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These growing\nmilitary ties with the US are not in the interest of Sri Lanka, Vitharana said.\nIf military cooperation of this nature continues, and an American military\nbase   is set up in Sri Lanka   ,\nSri Lanka would become a US puppet like the Philippines. ( continued)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS During Yahapalana rule, there was much emphasis on the Sri Lanka navy. The Sri Lankan Navy is a well-trained and professional force with the potential to contribute to multi-lateral maritime interoperability in the Indian Ocean, said US Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Philip Davidson in 2019.The US Indo-Pacific command would focus in 2019 on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kamalika-pieris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109378\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}