Anura-Modi Pact: The elephant in the room is the dragon

In a historic first for Sri Lanka, a “defence pact” was signed last week by President AKD with Prime Minister Modi of India, to the surprise of the people of Sri Lanka who had no inkling that such a thing was even on the cards.

- By SANJA DE SILVA JAYATILLEKA

It was predictably given rise to agitated discussion in this country, not only due to the secrecy surrounding the contents of the “pact”, but also due to its sudden emergence. For a seriously consequential decision such as this, there had been zero discussion in the public domain, and the defence pact was practically sprung on the public during the two-day visit of the leader of the neighbouring giant, India.

In 2019, an Australian researcher at the Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSL) Ms. Luca Stronech, assessed the rise of Indo-Pacific cooperation, analysing structures for Sri Lanka’s next strategic priority.

Udeshika Jayasekera reports in the INSSL website the researcher’s submission that “the absence of a well-developed defence white paper could hinder Sri Lanka’s strategic response to a changing security environment”. She stressed that a Sri Lankan defence white paper should present the Government’s position on defence policy, objectives and strategies, with specific mention to the security environment and threats, future defence directions, and military doctrine.

Stronech explains that “All strategies that are made must be evidence-based in nature [rather than influenced for political or personal gain], and decisions should be made as cost-effectively as possible whilst adhering to core government objectives and policy.”

(https://www.inssslk.id/wp/pdf.id=231)