Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi held discussions over a video conference to strengthen defence cooperation and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Defence, Rajapaksa, who also holds the defence portfolio, exchanged views on defence cooperation, including naval and aerial cooperation. Sri Lanka and Japan had signed the Memorandum on Defence Cooperation and Exchanges in 2019 to bolster military cooperation.
According to experts, the meeting between the two leaders is significant as Japan has been providing development assistance to Sri Lanka and is counted as one of its largest donors.
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They also discussed various military exercises, including the JA-LAN EX in September 2020, the Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) and the online Air Rescue seminar in May 2021.
Sri Lankan newspaper Daily FT reported that Gotabaya and Kishi discussed regional security issues relating to developments in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The newspaper says: "Kishi expressed strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by coercion in the East and South China Seas". Both sides committed themselves to the importance of free, open, and rules-based maritime order in the region.
Additionally, the Colombo Page website said that the two countries will share knowledge and lessons learned from "infectious disease control measures taken by the defense authorities".
Japan increased its support to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of the devastating Covid-19 pandemic.
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