Japan offers to boost Sri Lanka security as China makes inroads
Japan has pledged to help strengthen Sri Lanka's maritime security, authorities said on 21 August, in a new sign of efforts to counter China's strategic grip on the Indian Ocean island.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena thanked Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera for donating two coast guard patrol craft costing over $11 million in total, his office said in a statement after talks in Colombo.
The statement said: ‘Attention has been drawn to further strengthening maritime security cooperation between Japan and Sri Lanka.’
The visit came a week after the US State Department gave $39 million to strengthen the island's naval capabilities.
Sirisena said he was happy that Onodera, the first Japanese defence minister to visit, was travelling to two strategic ports on the island.
Onodera will visit Hambantota, which Colombo in December 2017 leased to a Chinese state-owned company for 99 years.
The government said it was forced to lease the port for $1.1 billion because it could not service loans from Beijing to build the white-elephant facility agreed by former President Mahinda Rajapakse.
Hambantota, 230kms from Colombo, straddles the world's busiest east-west shipping route and gives China a foothold in a region long dominated by India.
The Japanese minister will also visit Trincomalee, a natural harbour that was the target of Japanese bombing during World War II.
China has edged out Japan as a key funder of ports and other projects in the island in recent years. Sri Lanka has become a key link in its ambitious ‘Belt and Road’ international infrastructure initiative. China has also vowed to keep providing financial help to Sri Lanka.
The International Monetary Fund, which bailed out Sri Lanka in 2016 with a $1.5 billion loan, has warned Colombo over its debt.
More from Defence Notes
-
![Companies’ results boom as countries dig deep to buy missiles and air defence systems]()
Companies’ results boom as countries dig deep to buy missiles and air defence systems
Air defence systems are continuing to appear top of countries’ shopping lists but broadly across different capabilities it is a sellers’ market, as demonstrated by backlogs and double-digit percentage point growth.
-
![Forging strong partnerships for warfighting communications in space (Studio)]()
Forging strong partnerships for warfighting communications in space (Studio)
Mike Moran, Director of US Government Business at Amazon Project Kuiper Government Solutions, highlighted the evolution of space as a critical warfighting domain at the Defence in Space Conference (DISC) 2025, held this week in London.
-
![Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans]()
Details revealed on Germany’s big spending plans
In May this year, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the government plans to position Germany as “Europe's strongest conventional army”. A new blueprint outlines how this is going to occur through massive investment.
-
![European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap]()
European Council to deliver at “pace and scale” on European defence readiness 2030 roadmap
Two of the concrete projects outlined in the readiness report, the European Air Shield and Space Shield, will aim to be launched by Q2 2026.
-
![Malaysia’s defence budget sets out major procurement goals for 2026]()
Malaysia’s defence budget sets out major procurement goals for 2026
The country has allocated RM21.70 billion for defence spending next year, with some major procurements set to be initiated across the country’s army, navy and air force.
-
![GAO highlights the need for more commercial data and availability improvements]()
GAO highlights the need for more commercial data and availability improvements
The US Government Accountability Office recently released two reports; one into the availability of selected equipment and another looking at how the government gets data and intellectual property rights through contracting.
