NEW DELHI: Pakistan’s effort to conduct a joint naval exercise this year with Sri Lanka in the waters off Trincomalee, a port city where an energy hub is being developed with Indian involvement, was shut down after New Delhi conveyed its concerns to Colombo, people familiar with the matter said.
The joint exercise was planned in the weeks ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka this month, when New Delhi and Colombo signed a defence cooperation agreement, the first of its kind, and another tripartite agreement involving the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the energy hub at Trincomalee, including a multi-product pipeline.
The move by Pakistan, especially the proposal that the exercise be conducted in the waters around Trincomalee, was seen as a deliberate attempt to needle India, the people said on condition of anonymity. It came after Sri Lanka last year imposed a one-year moratorium on visits by foreign research vessels, a measure put in place by Colombo largely because of the activities of surveillance vessels from China, Pakistan’s long-standing ally.
Once the Indian side learnt of the planned joint naval exercise, it was taken up with Sri Lankan authorities by the Indian high commission in Colombo, which strongly conveyed New Delhi’s concerns about such activities in a region where the Indian side has important stakes, the people said.
{{/usCountry}}Once the Indian side learnt of the planned joint naval exercise, it was taken up with Sri Lankan authorities by the Indian high commission in Colombo, which strongly conveyed New Delhi’s concerns about such activities in a region where the Indian side has important stakes, the people said.
{{/usCountry}}The joint exercise was quietly scrapped by Sri Lankan authorities despite protests from the Pakistani side, the people said.
There was no word on the development from Indian officials. While the exact dates for the planned exercise could not be ascertained, a Pakistan Navy frigate, PNS Aslat, visited Colombo port in February and early March.
PNS Aslat conducted a “passex” or passing exercise with a Sri Lanka Navy warship in the waters off Colombo before departing from Sri Lankan waters during the visit in March. This passex focused on communication and tactical maneuvering, according to a readout from the Sri Lankan Navy.
The Indian government has traditionally bristled at port visits to Sri Lanka by Chinese or Pakistani warships. Port visits by Chinese vessels have been more frequent, especially since Beijing controls Hambantota port under a 99-year lease.
In recent years, India has been increasingly concerned by visits to Sri Lanka by sophisticated Chinese surveillance vessels that are capable of monitoring coastal defences and tracking satellite and missile launches. The moratorium imposed by Sri Lanka on visits by such vessels last December, and the people said the Sri Lankan side is yet to take a call on dealing with visits by such vessels.
The memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defence cooperation signed by New Delhi and Colombo on April 5, during Modi’s visit for talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, marked the first refresh of ties in this important sector since India’s troubled intervention in Sri Lanka’s civil war in the late 1980s, and came at a time when India has been concerned about China’s increasing presence in its strategic backyard.
The MoU will make existing initiatives for defence cooperation more structured and lead to more joint exercises and potential defence industry collaboration.
The tripartite MoU involving India, Sri Lanka and the UAE, signed the same day, will focus on developing an energy hub at Trincomalee, including a multi-product pipeline and further development of a World War 2 oil tank farm partly held by the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation.
In 2022, the Sri Lankan government, Lanka IOC, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and a joint venture between the two oil firms signed lease agreements for refurbishing and developing the 850-acre oil storage facility in Trincomalee, a strategic natural harbour on Sri Lanka’s eastern coast.
The new tripartite agreement is expected to boost India’s position after Chinese state energy firm Sinopec signed a deal to build a $3.2-billion oil refinery in the southern port city of Hambantota.