Defence cooperation
Australia and Sri Lanka enjoy a positive and growing defence relationship. Collaborative activities such as joint exercises and training have significantly increased in the past year. This comes following the establishment of a permanent Defence Advisor position in the Australian High Commission in 2015 in recognition of the important security and defence links that Sri Lanka and Australia share as maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean.
During 2018 the number of training courses offered in Australia has more than doubled, with a long-term postgraduate course for a Sri Lankan Navy officer and 30 short-term courses for mid-ranking officers from the tri-services.This is consistent with the Australian Defence White Paper 2016, which commits to doubling the training provided over the next 15 years in Australia for our key international defence partners.
In the last 12 months Sri Lanka also sent a warship to Australia to participate in the Australian Navy’s premier multilateral exercise, Kakadu, and a Platoon of Sri Lankan Marines were embarked on HMAS Adelaide for the Indo Pacific Endeavour cruise in the Southwest Pacific. Senior officer engagements have increased with both the Sri Lankan Army and Air Force Commanders visiting Australia. Links between our two countries’ professional military education establishments were initiated with the inaugural visit by Sri Lanka’s Defence Services Command and Staff College to Australia and an Australian Defence Force secondment in Sri Lanka to assist with a curriculum for Sri Lanka’s future National Defence College.
The year ahead will build on this success and be our biggest year yet for defence cooperation. There will be more training opportunities and greater engagement between our respective senior Defence leaders. 2019 will also see the visit to Sri Lanka of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavour Task Force. Consisting of four Royal Australian Navy ships and hundreds of Australian Defence Force personnel, this visit in March 2019 will provide new opportunities for further strengthening the Defence relationship between Australia and Sri Lanka.