India Must Side With President Sirisena And Deny Any Permanent Military Base To USA In Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe announced in parliament that sri Lanka was negotiating a new co operation pact with the United States to replace the 1995 Status of Forces (SoFA) arrangement. The new agreement, if signed, would allow the US military personnel easier access to Sri Lanka.
The PM clarified that the deal would not allow the US to set up any military base on the island and would not hurt Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. The status of forces agreement was signed in 1995 by the then-government of president Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. It established the framework for US military personnel to operate in Sri Lanka.
Another pact with the Americans – known as the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) – was signed by the then defence minister Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2007. It was renewed in August 2017 without making changes to its contents. The ACSA extends diplomatic privileges to military personnel and defence contractors.
However a few days earlier President Sirisena had clearly said he would not let the government headed by his pro-West arch-rival Mr Wicjeremesinghe, conclude any deal that would either give the US forces a military base in Sri Lanka or challenge the country’s sovereignty.
India has already taken action to counter China’s expanding footprint in Sri Lanka, Maldives and in other SAARC countries. Now this negotiation by Sri Lanka over a military pact with the US threatens to split the strategically located Indian Ocean island’s polity again.
This cannot to permitted by India. No outside country can have a military base in Sri Lanka. Therefore India must clearly side with the President.
For New Delhi, a renewed US interest in Sri Lanka, on any pretext is as dangerous situation as a Chinese base . India and the US have signed what is known as the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Mgreement (LEMM) in 2016 which gives both countries access to designated military facilities on either side for refueling, joint exercises and training. A similar thing may be signed by Sri Lanka also and nothing more.
Another agreement between India and USA – the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (CCSA) signed in 2018 – enables secure encrypted communications and facilitates interoperability between militaries and sale of high-end technology.
China stepped up investment in ports and other projects on the island, as a key link in Beijing’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
China vowed to keep providing financial help, including loans, to Sri Lanka despite warnings about the nation’s mounting debt. In 2017, Sri Lanka gave a 99-year lease on a strategic port in Hambantota to Beijing because it could not repay Chinese loans for the US $1.4 billion project.
The Hambantota port straddles the world’s busiest East-West shipping route . However India has ensured that China is unable to make any military use of the port.
Wickremesinghe is expected to run against Sirisena for President later this year.
The US foray into Sri Lanka would not go unnoticed in China.
