Defence cooperation
As maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka and Australia enjoy a positive and growing defence relationship. Sri Lanka’s establishment in 2019 of a Defence Advisor position at its High Commission in Canberra is a welcome complement to the Defence Advisor position at the Australian High Commission established in 2015.
In the past 12 months, six Royal Australian Navy ships visited Sri Lanka. Two of these ships conducted a search for the wreck of HMAS Vampire off the coast of Batticaloa. The other four ships were a part of the Indo- Pacific Endeavour Task Force 2019, which visited both Colombo and Trincomalee.
Indo- Pacific Endeavour provided an opportunity for Sri Lankan and Australian defence forces to engage in areas of mutual interest, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response, peacekeeping operations and maritime security. Australian sailors, soldiers and airmen had the welcome opportunity to experience Sri Lanka’ reknown hospitality and culture.
Senior officer engagements continued in 2019 with the Sri Lankan Defence S e c re t a r y, Navy Commander and Air Force Commander visiting Australia to engage with their counterparts.
Establishment of a Sri Lankan National Defence College was supported in 2019 through the secondment of an Australian Defence Force officer to Sri Lanka’s Office of Chief of Defence Staff. A 2020 scholarship for a Sri Lankan military officer at the Australian National University’s National Security College will assist with the development of curriculum and academic materials for the College.
Military education links were also furthered with a visit by Sri Lanka’s Defence Services Command and Staff College to Australia.
The great spirit of cooperation that exists between the Sri Lankan tri- forces and the Australian Defence Force will be built upon in 2020, including through the establishment of additional long term training positions at Australian defence colleges and greater Navyto-Navy cooperation.