{"id":109382,"date":"2020-12-05T16:42:11","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T23:42:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=109382"},"modified":"2020-12-05T16:42:11","modified_gmt":"2020-12-05T23:42:11","slug":"pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7f","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/12\/05\/pohottuwa-government-of-sri-lanka-part-2-c7f\/","title":{"rendered":"POHOTTUWA GOVERNMENT OF SRI LANKA Part 2 C7f"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

USA was\ndetermined to capture Sri Lanka, politically and militarily in the Yahapalana\nperiod 2015-2019. US made it clear that it  \nneeded the support of Sri Lanka for its control of Bay of Bengal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US said in 2016\nthat given Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location, it is in America\u2019s interest to\nincrease military collaboration and cooperation with Sri Lanka. US intended to\nexpand military leadership discussions, increase naval engagement and focus on\ndefense institution building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2016 Admiral Harry.B. Harris Jr, head of the US\nPacific Command told the US Senate Armed Services Committee, we have an\nopportunity to expand US interest in Sri Lanka. Given Sri Lanka strategic location it is in\nAmerica\u2019s interest to increase military collaboration and cooperation. US will expand military leadership\ndiscussions, increase naval engagement and focus on defense institution\nbuilding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admiral Harris\nattended the Sri Lanka Navy\u2019s Galle Dialogue 2016\u201d.  He said USA and India had sent low ranking\nofficers to the first Galle Dialogue. The People\u2019s Republic of China had been\nrepresented by a high level delegation. \nIt was different now. \u2018The Indian Ocean matters to USA, Sri Lanka\nmatters to the US and I believe that US matters to Sri Lanka.\u2019 Sri Lanka could\nhelp to complete the defense ring around the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Galle Dialogue 2017, Admiral Scott Swift, Pacific Fleet Commander\nsaid they look forward to the expansion of our military to military relations. Addressing\nthe 3rd Annual Colombo Air Symposium, October 2017, United States Air Force\nMajor General James Eifet called for increased partnership and information\nsharing among nations in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of a nuclear\nthreat from North Korea. Sri Lanka was also within the range of an attack by\nballistic missiles from North Korea, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2018, a delegation from the House Armed Services Committee\nof the U.S. Congress visited Sri Lanka. The House Armed Services Committee, a\nstanding committee of the United States House of Representatives, is a powerful\nCommittee, responsible for the supervision of armed forces and the Department\nof Defence. The delegation was led by its Chairman Mac Thornberry.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visit was to find out ways of strengthening defence\ncooperation between Sri Lanka and USA.  \nPresident Sirisena told the delegation that he greatly appreciated the\ndefense training provided by the US, such as the joint military exercises\ncarried out by US and Sri Lanka. Such programmes should continue for security\npurposes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US Army\u2019s\nPacific Region Head Gen. Robert B.Brown made an official visit to the Island in\nJuly   2018. He met Sri Lanka\u2018s Chief of\nDefence Staff. Gen. Brown\u2019s visit was aimed at strengthening military\ncooperation and mutual friendship and thus deepening the US-South Asia\nunderstanding. Lengthy discussions took place on how the US Army can assist the\nSri Lankan Army on disaster management activities and as to whether the Sri\nLankan Peace Keeping Mission can get international training. Gen Brown also\nadmired the professional competency of the Sri Lankan Army on demining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US Indo-Pacific Command Chief Admiral Philip Davidson told the US\nSenate’s Armed Services Committee, during a Congressional hearing, in January\n2019 that Sri Lanka was   a significant\nstrategic opportunity in the Indian Ocean. Despite the\npolitical upheaval in Sri Lanka, it is in America’s interests to continue\nmilitary collaboration and cooperation with Sri Lankan Forces he said.\nMilitary-to-military relationship continues to strengthen between the two\nnations., said Davidson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomas\nJ.Vajda US Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State dealing with\nSouth and Central Asia   visited Colombo in February 2019 and said \u2018we\nview Sri Lanka as a critical partner in the region.\u2019  He decided to woo Sri Lanka with some flattery.\nAs the United States increasingly turns its focus to more robust engagement in\nthe Indo-Pacific region, it also looks to Sri Lanka as a valued friend and a\npartner to be a leader in that process, he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He spoke of\nSri Lanka\u2019s important role in the region. Your country has a hugely influential\nrole to play in the region said Vadja. Located at the nexus of the\nIndo-Pacific, Sri Lanka has the opportunity to shape the region\u2019s future\nconcluded Vadja. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert.\nO. Blake, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from 2006 to 2009,\nvisited Sri Lanka  in May 2019. He said\nthat Sri Lanka is a very attractive partner \nand  a military role is expected\nof Sri Lanka. Military links between\nUSA and Sri Lanka are getting strengthened, he said. USA military and Sri Lanka\nmilitary train together. There are joint exercises with all three\nservices.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

US had obtained access to Sri Lanka  military  well before 2015. In 2002  the US\nPacific Command team  was   invited to report on the Sri Lanka armed\nforces. The team prepared a top secret\nreport which was also shown to the Sri Lanka authorities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Access to the\nmilitary  greatly increased Yahapalana\nrule. The first US Sri Lanka operational level bilateral defense dialogue took\nplace in August 2016. The purpose was to develop a programme of bilateral\ntraining and exercises for the next three years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL)\nbriefed a delegation from the Young Alakai Warriors of the U.S. Army Pacific on\nSecurity Challenges of Sri Lanka in the Next Decade\u201d in  March 2017. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A contingent of 33 US Army Cadets, from US Army Reserve Officers\u2019\nTraining Corps (AROTC) came to Sri Lanka in June 2017, on a familiarization\ntour. They were  given an initial\ntraining in weapon handling, field practices, physical training, by the Sri\nLanka Army. The Cadets  visited the Sri\nLanka Military Academy , Security Force Headquarters, Sri Lanka Light Infantry\nHeadquarters, Regimental Headquarters of the Sri Lanka Engineers and the Army\nSchool of Artillery at Minneriya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 US said, we launched the Bay of Bengal Initiative, as part\nof the maritime security theme to help enhance the capacity of civilian and\nmilitary maritime actors in this vital region, which is home to important sea\nlanes linking the Indian Ocean to East Asia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Under the Bay of Bengal\nInitiative,  the United States will \u2018work\nwith other partners in the Bay of Bengal, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to\nenhance the capacity of civilian and military maritime actors in the Indian\nOcean Region to improve the target areas of detection, information-sharing, and\nresponse to emerging threats.\u2019 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 17-member delegation of the United States Land Forces in the\nPacific Command arrived in Sri Lanka for participation in \u2018Land Forces Pacific\nProgramme\u2019 sessions In April 2018. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In August 2018 the U.S. Department of State announced that it\nwould provide approximately $39 million in Foreign Military Financing for Sri\nLanka, pending Congressional approval.”We look forward to discussing with\nthe Government of Sri Lanka how this contribution can support our Bay of Bengal\ninitiative and Sri Lanka\u2019s humanitarian assistance and disaster response\npriorities”, it said in a statement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lanka\ntook part in the biennial Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) maritime exercise  2018 \nheld in  Hawaii and Southern\nCalifornia in June 2018. This was  the\nfirst time Sri Lanka   was participating\nin this exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RIMPAC 2018\nwas an American led combined live field training exercise that included\noperational and tactical level training. The Sri Lanka team also had a week of\nField Training Exercise and similar training engagements with Royal Australian\nNavy Marines and US Marines in Townville, Australia. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. Ambassador stated in January 2019 that “U.S.-Sri Lanka\nsecurity cooperation includes a variety of joint exercises and training,  helping \namong other things, \ninteroperability. This cooperation was designed by both countries to\naddress our mutual security interests. Every\njoint exercise, every training in disaster response, is done at the invitation\nof our Sri Lankan hosts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United States and Sri Lanka agreed to expand\nmilitary-to-military cooperation” said a \njoint statement from the Foreign Ministry in  May 2019. The cooperation included demining,\njoint military engagements, Sri Lanka\u2019s peacekeeping operations, human rights\ntraining for Sri Lankan officers, and visits by U.S. ships and military\nofficials. The use of the term \u2018joint\nengagements\u2019 (rather than \u2018joint exercises\u2019) is significant as it suggests a\ncombat role, commented Lasanda Kurukulasuriya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

United States Air Force Airmen from across the Indo-Pacific met\nwith their Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) counterparts at the SLAF Headquarters in\nColombo in 2018 for ‘Airman to Airman’ talks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In  2019 the US embassy\nwanted to have a display of US Air Force aircraft in Colombo .They suggested\nconducting an air parade over the skies of the Galle Face Green using aircraft\nfrom the USS John Stennis<\/em>, the Nimitz class nuclear powered carrier\nstrike group which was  lying  off the shores of Sri Lanka. The US embassy\nthought  Sri Lankans would love this. The\nForeign Ministry did not think they would. The idea was abandoned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 US wanted to bring Sri\nLanka under its militia control through three agreements, ACSA, SOFA and MCC.\nThese have been  extensively\ndiscussed  elsewhere. Ranil\nWickremesinghe   said in Parliament that SOFA <\/strong>was not an agreement but an\nexchange of letters signed between the US Embassy and our Foreign Ministry.\nThese agreements generally establish the framework under which US military\npersonnel operate in a foreign country. SOFA provides for rights and privileges\nof  US military while in foreign\njurisdictions and how the laws of foreign jurisdictions apply to US personnel.    US has signed\nSOFAs with many countries. (Continued) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KAMALIKA PIERIS USA was determined to capture Sri Lanka, politically and militarily in the Yahapalana period 2015-2019. US made it clear that it   needed the support of Sri Lanka for its control of Bay of Bengal. US said in 2016 that given Sri Lanka\u2019s strategic location, it is in America\u2019s interest to increase military collaboration […]<\/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-109382","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\/109382","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=109382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109382\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}