President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has said that the defence pact with India would be presented in parliament soon.
Dissanayake was responding to Opposition criticism that his NPP government had entered a secret defence pact with India when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka from April 4 to 6 and has been demanding that the MoU be revealed.
“They are creating false narratives. These are imaginary monsters created by them without seeing it. There are agreements between the countries, they are open for both sides. It is our responsibility to ensure our own security. This has been stated in a clause in the agreement”, Dissanayake said during a TV talk show Friday night.
Dissanayake had ensured Sri Lanka’s consistent position that its soil would not be allowed to be used for any anti-Indian activity so as to endanger its giant neighbour’s national security concerns. Modi, in his banquet speech, had thanked Dissanayake for this position, viewing it as a significant gesture of goodwill and regional responsibility.
The Opposition has riled the National People’s Power (NPP) for signing pacts with India, pointing to the ideological roots of its mother party, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which in 1987–90 led a bloody rebellion in protest of direct Indian intervention in Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority issue. The uprising marked a dark chapter in Sri Lankan history, triggered by the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord signed between Rajiv Gandhi and JR Jayawardena.
That agreement brought about constitutional changes, including the establishment of provincial councils in all nine provinces, a move that met with strong resistance from nationalist elements.
The JVP carried out a violent campaign, targeting individuals and groups that supported the Accord, until it was eventually defeated through military action in late 1989. These events have continued to shape public sentiment and political narratives surrounding foreign agreements, especially with India.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation between India and Sri Lanka, signed on April 5 during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the island nation, will remain in force for five years. This marks the first time both nations have formalised such a major defence pact to institutionalise a framework for deeper military engagement and strategic collaboration.
The MoU outlines enhanced military-to-military cooperation, regular high-level exchanges, joint exercises and greater interoperability between the two armed forces. It is also expected to facilitate logistical support and the exchange of defence-related technologies, strengthening mutual trust and operational synergy. The pact further encourages coordination in areas such as maritime domain awareness, cybersecurity, and peacekeeping operations under multilateral arrangements, reflecting the evolving nature of regional security challenges.
“India annually trains around 750 Sri Lankan military personnel. This defence partnership continues to be an invaluable asset,” Sri Lanka’s Defence Secretary Thuiyakontha said after the agreement was signed. He added, “As part of the cooperation under this MoU, both parties are committed to respecting each other’s military and national laws, as well as the principles and purposes of the UN Charter—including sovereign equality and non-intervention in internal affairs.”
This strategic step comes amid growing geopolitical interest in the Indian Ocean region, where maritime security and regional alliances are gaining greater significance, especially with rising competition among global powers for influence and access to vital sea lanes.
