Japan-Sri Lanka defence ties expand in line with Tokyo's Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy

Japan has decided to provide advanced Japanese UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) for enhancing Sri Lanka's maritime surveillance and disaster relief capabilities. This was announced in a joint communique issued by Japan and Sri Lanka following Japanese PM Ishiba Shigeru's meeting with President Anua Kumara Dissanyake during the latter's visit to Tokyo (27-30 September).

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The Yahapalana government signed a Comprehensive Partnership agreement with Japan in 2015.

According to the joint statement issued yesterday, Japan and Sri Lanka confirmed the importance of deepening defence and security cooperation between the two countries and enhancing the security and deterrence capabilities of Sri Lanka to ensure the peace and stability of the Indian Ocean Region. From this perspective, both sides welcomed the provision of advanced Japanese UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) for enhancing maritime surveillance and disaster relief capabilities, through the first Official Security Assistance (OSA) project, visa-vis Sri Lanka, decided during the visit.