Sri Lanka gets bomb disposal device through Chinese grant
The equipment will be used primarily for screening, bomb detection, and disposal, according to Army sources in Colombo; the official statement did not mention the cost of the equipment
Sri Lanka has received a stock of bomb squad equipment through a grant from the Chinese military, the Sri Lankan Army has said.
The Chinese Ambassador in Colombo handed over the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) equipment to the Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence Gen. Kamal Gunaratne (Rtd) in a ceremony held on Wednesday, according to a media statement. The equipment will be used primarily for screening, bomb detection, and disposal, according to Army sources in Colombo. The statement did not mention the cost of the equipment.
The development came a day after the U.S. Department of Defence commenced a training programme for Sri Lanka’s Air
Explosive Ordnance Disposal equipment delivered to the Sri Lankan Army under Chinese military grant.
Force for enhanced protection of the island’s maritime resources, to counter illicit trafficking and monitor its exclusive economic zone. It also coincided with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s recent engagement in the region, including in Sri Lanka.
On March 7, a senior Chinese military official was in Colombo for talks with the military establishment. Deputy Chief of the Office for International Mil
itary Cooperation (OMIC) of the Central Military Commission (CMC), China, Major General Zhang Baoqun met Gen. Gunaratne to “exchange perspectives on prevalent regional security challenges and explore avenues for joint initiatives on enhancing maritime security collaborations on mutual ground,” a press release from the Sri Lankan Army said.
Beijing on Wednesday confirmed that a military delegation visited the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal from March 4 to 13 to discuss further defence cooperation. During the delegation’s visit to the Maldives, the island nation’s Minister of Defence signed a pact with Major General Zhang Baoqun for military assistance from China.
Beijing’s enhanced military engagement in the region remains a cause for concern in New Delhi, even as India and Sri Lanka maintain longstanding defence ties, and currently have an annual defence dialogue at the level of Secretary to the Defence Ministry. The seventh round of the dialogue was held in New Delhi on February 23, 2023. Sri Lanka has a Liaison Officer posted at the Indian Navy’s Information Fusion Centre for the Indian Ocean Region (IFCIOR) located in Gurugram. (With inputs from
Dinakar Peri in New Delhi)