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).
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, vis-à-vis Sri Lanka, decided during the visit.
Both sides also welcomed the steady progress in defence cooperation between the two countries, through port calls by Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) vessels and joint exercises between the JMSDF and the Sri Lankan Navy. Both sides confirmed that the visit of the Minister of Defence of Japan NAKATANI Gen to Sri Lanka in May this year, where a decision was taken on the convening of the second Japan-Sri Lanka Defence Dialogue, underscored the commitment to further promoting cooperation in this area between the two countries.
Recalling the long-standing friendly relations between Japan and Sri Lanka, both sides reaffirmed their intention to further deepen and expand cooperation, including inter alia in the areas of security, economy, investment, and development cooperation, under the framework of the deepened and expanded Comprehensive Partnership established between the two countries.
Both sides had an exchange of views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. Reiterating the importance of greater engagement by Japan in the region through Japan’s vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, both sides reaffirmed the need for continued cooperation on issues of mutual interest, including on the rules based international order. Both sides also reiterated support for multilateralism and democracy.
As maritime nations, both sides reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight, and underscored the significance of respect and adherence to international law, as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for maintaining a stable and peaceful international maritime order.