ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka is in discussion with Indian arm producers to establish an arms manufacturing unit in the island nation, State Defence Minister Premitha Bandara Tennakoon said.
The State Minister’s comments come a month after Indian arm manufacturers demonstrated Delhi’s capability in arm manufacturing to Sri Lankan military at a seminar while the island nation has been expecting for future joint collaboration in weapon production and military services.
“We are in discussion with India to set up a small arms manufacturing unit,” Tennakoon told reporters at a media briefing in Colombo on Wednesday (15).
“What you have to understand is the Indian defence manufacturing arm has boomed during the last two decades. It is a model that we have to look into. We can take a lot from Indian model and nothing wrong in learning from them. I think we also should get into the manufacturing,” he said.
Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with annihilating all the top rebel leaders in after a 26-year civil war.
India, which strongly backed LTTE by providing arms and training in the early stage of the war, took a complete U-turn and helped Sri Lanka military in the final stage of the war.
Defence analysts say Sri Lanka’s military tactics in winning the war has been marred by local and international allegations over human rights violations in the final phase of the war that ended in May 2009.
ALREADY MANUFACTURING
State Minister Tennakoon said Sri Lankan military is already into arms manufacturing.
“We are already doing it, but the scale is not what we expect it to be,” he said.
“So, we are in touch with our Indian counterparts and so much we can take from Indians little help we also can do wonders. So those discussions are ongoing at the moment.”
Tennakoon also said the military connectivity between India and Sri Lanka is at a high.
India’s privately owned defence companies on April 10 demonstrated the capability they have developed in manufacturing arms and other products including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), latest drones, and latest earth movers used in war zones.
The delegation comprised representatives from Indian Defence companies including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bharat Electronics Limited, Zen Technologies, SSS Defence, Bharat Forge, Big Bang Boom Solutions, AWEL, AVNL, Mahindra Defence, Sager Defence and TATA Advances System Ltd.
Tennakoon said the event was an annual one amid discussions to set up a local manufacturing unit.
India’s defence exports have expanded by 10 folds to nearly $2.6 billion over the past five years, Indian High Commission in Colombo has said.
Since the end of the Sri Lankan war, India has been increasingly involved with the island nation’s armed forces, providing trainings and conducting joint military exercises with a special focus on maritime security after China increased its footprint in Sri Lanka.
The Indian government has committed supply of Floating Dock, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre and Dornier aircraft to ensure capacity building of Sri Lanka Armed Forces.
Sri Lanka has been looking for collaboration to earn foreign exchange in all sectors including military since an unprecedented economic crisis in 2022 which forced the country to default sovereign debts.
Since then, the island nation has yet to pay its private and bilateral external creditors. (Colombo/May 15/2024)