Col R
Hariharan| 31-7-2019| Courtesy: South Asia Security Trends, Aug 2019 | www.security-risks.com |
Though
three months have passed since the Jihadi terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday on
April 21, Sri Lanka does not seem to have rectified the aberrations that led to
the attacks, despite getting information on the impending
attacks 12 days earlier. The Parliamentary select committee inquiry into the attacks has
revealed damage done to national security apparatus and governance due to the continuing
power struggle between President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe.
The
President–PM cold war is likely to continue till November 2019 when the
presidential elections in November 2019. Former president Mahinda Rajapaksa’s
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) has emerged as a challenger in the
presidential race, queering the pitch of the main contenders from Sirisena-led
Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the Wickremesinghe-led United National Party
(UNP). The ruling UNP has formed the
National Democratic Front (NDF) with existing partners, while talks will soon
start for the SLPP to join hands with SLPP, which has already formed its own
front.
As
early as 2007 when the US war on terror was at its peak, it considered “Sri
Lanka positioned astride major sea lanes and at the doorstep to India, can play
a significant role in military readiness as political and military efforts
shift focus on Asia in the new millennium” according to a US diplomatic cable
from Colombo. China is now firmly established in Sri Lanka and in South Asia.
PLA Navy warships are seen increasing numbers in Indian Ocean.
This has
increased the importance of building close security relations with Sri Lanka
for furthering US’ Indo-Pacific strategy. Many consider the US had a hand in
the forming of Sirisena-Wickremesinghe alliance to thwart
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s bid for a third tenure during the 2014 Sri Lanka
presidential election. Since then, the US has carefully nurtured its relations
with Sri Lanka. The US is probably concerned at the break-up of the
Sirisena-Wickremesinghe coalition, after President Sirisena’s abortive bid to
replace PM Wickremesinghe with Mahinda Rajapaksa in October 2018.
Notwithstanding this, US- Sri Lanka relations
have been growing, thanks to PM Wickremesinghe’s interest to build the
country’s relations with the US, perhaps as a counterpoise to China now
entrenched firmly in Sri Lanka. In June
2019, US Coast Guard gifted a decommissioned cutter to Sri Lanka which has been
commissioned as SLNS Gajabahu in Sri Lanka Navy. It is interesting to note that
in the same month, China handed over P-625, a 2300-tonne frigate built in 1994,
to Sri Lanka Navy in Shanghai.
Given this complex security and political environment,
PM Wickremesinghe had been facing a lot of flak from opposition over two
US-agreements: the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) and signing of
the $ 480-million Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) grant from the US.
The SOFA, though not a military agreement, is a
security arrangement to protect the rights and privileges of US military
personnel stationed in the host country i.e., immunity from prosecution by the
host country. The US has signed SOFA with a number of countries where US forces
are stationed. So SOFA is seen as preparatory to US building a base in
Trincomalee, if we go by media speculations.
The idea of signing SOFA was mooted after Sri
Lanka foreign ministry renewed the Acquisition and Cross Service Agreement
(ACSA) with the US in August 2017. But it was renewed without consulting the
service chiefs who are directly affected by the agreement. The agreement was originally signed by Sri
Lanka in March 20o7, as an operational expediency before major offensive was
launched against the LTTE in the North. The US had blocked the supply of vital
aircraft spares, without which SLAF’ aircraft of Israeli and of US origin were
grounded.
After the signing the ACSA, US supplies were
resumed and Sri Lanka was able to pursue its operations successfully. The US
also provided real time information on LTTE’s floating armouries which enabled SLN to destroy them. Now ACSA comes in handy for US military logistics in the
long haul across the Indo-Pacific; of course,
it facilitates American troops to freely interact with Sri Lanka armed
forces and take part in joint training exercises.
However, President Sirisena has openly opposed
the signing of SOFA; he has also expressed his reservations about the MCC
agreement. According to a report in Sunday Times, Colombo, when the Foreign
Minister Tilak Marapana, was in Washington DC for talks on SOFA with Secretary
of State Mike Pompeo, President Sirisena directed that Sri Lanka should not
sign the SOFA. State Minister for
Defence Wijewardene has made clear it that President’s approval was necessary
for the agreement and it would be signed by the Defence Secretary.
However, US Ambassador to Colombo Ms Alaina B
Teplitz has emphatically said that the US had no intention of building a base
in Sri Lanka. Explaining the rationale behind US security efforts in Sri Lanka,
she said in her US Independence Day message, “the sea lanes that pass beside
Sri Lanka are important for many nations”, which was why the US was helping Sri
Lanka’s capacity to protect its coast waters. The ambassador referred to the
gifting of the USCG cutter in June and said the US military cooperation was
“open and mutually beneficial.” She further added that every joint exercise and
training in disaster response was done at the invitation of Sri Lanka.
PM Wickremesinghe had informed the parliament
that no new agreement had been signed with the US;, “but we have been
discussing a draft [SOFA].” He assured that he would not sign anything to “harm
our independence and sovereignty.” The PM also referred to the letters
exchanged between President JR Jayawardane and Indian PM Rajiv Gandhi in 1987,
in which it was stated “Trincomalee or any other port in Sri Lanka will not be
available for military use by any other country.”
India has maintained a studious silence on the
SOFA controversy. It is interesting to note that India has not signed SOFA.
However, India-US strategic security relations started going on a high
trajectory after India signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement
(LEMOA with the US during PM Narendra Modi’s first term. It is part of an agenda to address a broad range of defence and security issues
including defence technology collaboration, expanding military-to-military
exchanges and the designation of India as a Major Defense Partner.
Does Sri Lanka need SOFA? Sri Lanka’s Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra
Wijegunaratne has put the ACSA and SOFA in the perspective of Sri Lanka’s
national interest. Speaking in a TV interview he said both the agreements are
controversial. However, Indian Ocean can be easily controlled from Sri Lanka. "It is our responsibility to protect this important location. Therefore, Sri
Lanka should not be a playground where international groups engage in their
power struggles." Under such
circumstances foreign affairs ministry and politicians have a huge
responsibility to sort out this matter. The Admiral stressed “we cannot forget
America” as it had helped during the Eelam War. While we need not agree
everything we should find a middle ground before signing the agreement and
involve security forces in such discussions.
The MCC agreement is less controversial,
compared with the SOFA. The MCC was created by the U.S.
Congress in January 2004 with strong bipartisan support to deliver smart U.S.
foreign assistance. MCC provides time-limited grants promoting economic growth,
reducing poverty, and strengthening institutions. These investments not only support
stability and prosperity in partner countries but also enhance American
interests. US ambassador Ms Teplitz has
clarified that $480-million grant under the agreement will address weaknesses in infrastructure and land administration identified by Sri Lanka as key
constraints to the country’s economic growth. She said “Under this agreement,
Sri Lanka will retain oversight and control of all aspects of the proposed
projects. The US will not own, control or in any way administer any land under
this agreement.”
The moot point is will President
Sirisena and PM Wickremesinghe set aside their personal polemics and political
priorities to address key national security concerns? The success of the SOFA
and ACSA would depend upon how best they use it to serve Sri Lanka’s national
interest.
Col R
Hariharan, a retired MI officer, served as the head of Intelligence of the
Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 90. He is associated with
the Chennai Centre for China Studies, South Asia Analysis Group and the International
Law and Strategic Analysis
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