New Delhi: Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will hold talks with the top military brass of Sri Lanka on further expanding bilateral defence ties in the maritime domain. On September 22, he began a four-day visit to the island nation.
The visit of Navy chief to Sri Lanka comes amid concerns in New Delhi over China’s persistent attempts to expand its strategic influence in the island nation. In Colombo, Admiral Tripathi will also meet Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya besides holding wide-ranging talks with the three service chiefs and other senior officials.
According to officials, the talks will be focused on a broad spectrum of matters with emphasis on maritime security, capability enhancement, training and identifying avenues to strengthen bilateral cooperation.
As per the official read out, the Chief of Naval Staff’s engagements in Sri Lanka are structured at deepening bonds of friendship, paving the way for enhanced understanding in key areas of shared strategic and maritime interests, in line with the vision of ‘MAHASAGAR’. “The visit reaffirms the time-tested India-Sri Lanka relations, anchored on mutual respect, maritime trust and a shared vision for peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region,” it said.
The vision MAHASAGAR or ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions’ for India’s engagement with the Global South was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Mauritius in March.
Navy chief Admiral Tripathi would also be participating in the 12th edition of Galle Dialogue at Colombo on the theme ‘Maritime Outlook of the Indian Ocean under Changing Dynamics’. India has been eyeing to further expand maritime security cooperation with Sri Lanka.
In a move that is expected to expand India’s strategic presence in the island nation, state-run Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) in June decided to acquire a controlling stake in Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard PLC under a USD 52.96 million deal.
The Indian Navy regularly interacts with the Sri Lanka Navy through medium of annual defence dialogue and staff talks. The two navies also hold Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise (SLINEX), passage exercises and regularly engage in training and hydrography exchanges.
