Colombo, September 9: Sri Lankan President and Defence Minister Anura Kumara Dissanayake has assured India that Colombo will “never allow” its territory to be used for activities inimical to India’s security interests, amid growing Chinese strategic presence in the Indian Ocean region.
The assurance came during a meeting with visiting Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in Colombo on Wednesday, as the two countries signed three defence-related MoUs, including an agreement to upgrade six L70 air defence guns in the Sri Lankan Air Force arsenal.
The other agreements provide for academic cooperation between the National Defence Colleges (NDCs) of India and Sri Lanka and formalise cooperation between the National Cadet Corps (NCC) of the two countries.
Singh, who is on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka, called on Dissanayake, who also holds the defence portfolio.
The Indian Ministry of Defence said the two leaders held “substantive discussions” covering the entire spectrum of the bilateral partnership, which it described as being marked by “traditionally warm relations and mutual trust”.
On Sri Lanka’s security assurance, the ministry said Dissanayake “recalled his interactions with PM Narendra Modi and reiterated that Sri Lanka would never allow its territory to be used for any activities inimical to India’s security interests”.
Under the L70 agreement, six 40-mm Swedish-origin air defence guns will be upgraded under a Government of India grant. The ministry said the upgrade would strengthen the protection of critical assets in Sri Lanka.
India had earlier supplied 24 L70 guns to the Sri Lankan Air Force as grant assistance between 2000 and 2006 and has serviced 18 of them in recent years.
The L70 has also featured in India’s own air-defence operations. The system was used during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, where it was deployed to protect ground assets against incoming drones and aircraft.
The agreement between the two National Defence Colleges is aimed at facilitating knowledge-sharing and strengthening academic ties between the two institutions.
The NCC pact, meanwhile, will formalise the youth exchange programme between India and Sri Lanka, under which cadets from different countries participate in NCC activities in New Delhi.
Singh and Dissanayake also virtually inaugurated three Bailey bridges constructed by the Indian Defence Forces in Sri Lanka, further underlining the growing defence and capacity-building cooperation between the two countries.
