Naval Vice Chief begins Sri Lanka visit, to hand over Dornier aircraft

New Delhi, August 14

Two days before a Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship docks in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, Vice Chief of the Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade began a two-day visit to the island nation on Sunday to hand over a maritime surveillance aircraft, authoritative government sources said.

The sources said Vice Admiral Ghormade will give the Dornier aircraft to the Sri Lankan Navy at a ceremony in Colombo on Monday, which will be attended by the top military and civil brass of the island nation. The aircraft is being provided to Sri Lanka from the inventory of the Indian Navy to help the country meet its immediate security requirement, they said.

The Indian Navy has already provided extensive training to a team from Sri Lanka's navy and the air force to operate the maritime surveillance aircraft.

"Sri Lanka has been a key partner of India and we will continue to expand our bilateral defence cooperation in the months and years to come," a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

The sources said Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was set to attend the handing-over ceremony, and if he does then it would send a signal about expanding strategic ties between the two countries.

The sources said India would provide to Sri Lanka two Dornier aircraft which were being manufactured by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Once these two-HAL manufactured aircraft are handed over, then the Dornier aircraft being given on Monday will return to the Indian Navy.

The handing over of the Dornier aircraft by India comes a day before Chinese ship 'Yuan Wang 5' will dock at the southern port of Hambantota on Tuesday for a week.

The ship was originally scheduled to arrive at the port on August 11 but it was delayed in the absence of permission by the Sri Lankan authorities.

Sri Lanka had asked China to defer the visit amid India's concerns over it. On Saturday, Colombo granted the port access to the vessel from August 16 to 22. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said Sri Lanka would make its own independent decisions and noted that India would make its judgment on its security concerns based on the prevailing situation in the region. — PTI

Expanding ties

• Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe is likely to attend the handing-over ceremony
• This will send a strong signal about expanding strategic ties between the two countries, said sources

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