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Sri Lanka Foreign Military Relations
Sri Lanka's oldest and most enduring military relationship
has been with Britain. As a British colony, the island was
garrisoned with British troops and, following independence, its
own indigenous armed forces were organized, trained, armed, and
led by British military personnel. Under a mutual defense
arrangement dating from 1947, the two nations have agreed to give
each other "such military assistance for the security of their
territories for defense against external aggression and for the
protection of essential communications as it may be in their
mutual interests to provide." The vague wording of this treaty
has allowed it to survive a number of political swings in Sri
Lanka's domestic arena, and it remained in force in 1988. Even
after the government of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike withdrew island
base rights from British forces in 1957, the British continued to
be a major supplier of military hardware. Although the British
government has denied any direct involvement, for a time former
British Special Air Service personnel under the auspices of the
private firm of Keeny Meeny Services were instrumental in
training Sri Lankan troops in counterterrorist and
counterinsurgency techniques.
After the anti-Tamil riots of 1983 and as the ethnic
insurgency increased in the north, the government turned to a
variety of foreign nations to assist in its counterinsurgency
campaign. In May 1984, at considerable cost to its standing among
Third World nations, the government arranged for the
establishment of an Israeli special interest section in Colombo.
Operating out of the United States embassy, agents from Shin Bet,
the Israeli counterespionage and internal security organization,
trained members of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force and other
groups in intelligence gathering and internal security
techniques.
Other nations that have reportedly provided training include
Australia, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and the United States.
Unconfirmed press reports suggest that a number of foreign
advisers, including Englishmen, Pakistanis, and South Africans,
have actually taken part in combat operations against the Tamil
insurgents. In April 1986, the Indian press announced that a
Pakistani Air Force officer had been killed in an airplane crash
shortly after participating in an air assault in Northern
Province.
Military relations between Sri Lanka and India underwent a
major change in mid-1987. For almost ten years, the Tamil
insurgency in Northern and Eastern provinces had been a major
source of friction between the two nations because India provided
shelter, training, and weapons to the insurgent groups. The Sri
Lankan insurgents found abundant sympathy and support for their
cause within the Tamil-dominated Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and
Madras served as the headquarters from which they regularly
issued condemnations of the government. Beginning in May 1987,
the Indian government changed its official role from that of
intermediary to active participant as it sought to abate the
turmoil in the island and bring together the Tamil separatists
and the Sri Lankan government. Although the resulting Indo-Sri
Lankan Accord, which was signed in July 1987, offered an
equitable formula for restoring peace to the troubled nation, a
subsequent exchange of executive letters accorded to India a
substantial voice in Sri Lankan military affairs. In particular,
Sri Lanka acceded to three major concessions. First, it agreed to
consult New Delhi on the employment of all foreign military and
intelligence personnel in Sri Lanka "with a view to insuring that
such presences will not prejudice Indo-Sri Lankan relations."
Second, it guaranteed that no Sri Lankan ports would be made
available "for military use by any country in a manner
prejudicial to India's interests." Third, Sri Lanka agreed to
review its contracts with foreign broadcasting organizations to
insure that none of their facilities in Sri Lanka would be used
for military or intelligence purposes. This latter concession was
specifically aimed at Voice of America broadcasting operations on
the island. In return, New Delhi agreed to deport all Sri Lankan
terrorists and insurgents operating on Indian soil and to provide
military training and supplies to the Sri Lankan armed forces.
Press reports in early 1988 suggested that Sri Lanka was prepared
to expand and formalize its military relationship with India
through a treaty of friendship and cooperation similar to that
linking India with the Soviet Union.
Data as of October 1988
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