The Cabinet Memorandum, signed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Minister of Defence on 18 March 2022 stated that correspondence has to be exchanged prior to the Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to India as an explanation or justification to Gunaratne’s conduct. Accordingly, it is clear that this deal has been done arbitrarily, bypassing Cabinet altogether.
by Bingun Menaka Gamage
Three agreements signed by the India and Sri Lanka Governments, and another to be signed soon, compromise Sri Lanka’s sovereignty as a State, documents obtained by Ceylon Today reveal.
It is clear from the relevant Cabinet Memoranda and interim documents and annexures that these are four unfavourable bilateral agreements which have been signed by the Cabinet as a puppet, endangering Sri Lanka’s territory, population, Government and sovereignty, which are considered as four essential aspects of the State.
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| US$ 1 billion credit line signed for supply of essential commodities. |
Three-quarters of the agreements have already been signed by the Cabinet and attempts have been made to cover-up its dangers with the ridiculous terms; ‘obtaining cover approval’ or ‘post-signing approval’.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Cabinet Memorandum on the subject of ‘Description and Justification’ has explained that such a decision had to be taken as the agreements had to be signed before Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa’s recent visit to India.
The first Cabinet Memorandum has been submitted by the Government of India to the Government of Sri Lanka entitled to supply DO-228 Dornier reconnaissance aircraft. It was prompted by an inquiry by Sri Lanka into the possibility of obtaining two Dornier reconnaissance aircrafts from India to enhance Sri Lanka Navy’s maritime surveillance feasibility at a security conference between Sri Lanka and India on 9 January 2018 in New Delhi. However, a former minister in the Yahapalana Government said it was not approved by the Cabinet at that time.
However, the Cabinet Memorandum stated that one of the two aircrafts will be used by the Navy for maritime surveillance and reconnaissance operations inside and outside Sri Lanka, as well as for surveillance in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone. In the meantime, India has submitted an amendment to this resolution. Accordingly, Delhi has proposed to give one of the two aircraft as a grant after two years, to provide an aircraft employed by the Indian Navy fleet until then, and to purchase the other aircraft through a loan facility.
The Ministry of Defence on 3 March 2022 has conveyed its consent to Indian High Commission on Delhi’s proposal. A team of five Indian technical officers will be sent to Sri Lanka to service the first Dornier aircraft and to train Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force personnel. Sri Lankan Government will bear their medical, accommodation, telephone, internet, transport and other expenses. The most serious issue here is that, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Kamal Gunaratne placed his signature to the exchange letter, pertaining to the agreement provided by the Indian High Commissioner on the 15 March without the approval of the Cabinet to sign the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries regarding the deal.
The Cabinet Memorandum, signed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa as the Minister of Defence on 18 March 2022 stated that correspondence has to be exchanged prior to the Basil Rajapaksa’s visit to India as an explanation or justification to Gunaratne’s conduct. Accordingly, it is clear that this deal has been done arbitrarily, bypassing Cabinet altogether.
The Cabinet Memorandum dated 18 March 2022, signed by President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa as the Minister of Defence, entitled ‘Acquisition of a 4,000 tonnes Floating Dock for the Sri Lanka Navy by the Financial Sponsorship of the Government of India’, is another such agreement. It states that the Sri Lanka Navy’s dependence on the Colombo Dockyard Company is strategically disadvantageous and that an agreement has been reached with the Government of India regarding the construction of a floating dockyard and a grant to the Government of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the contract agreement for the construction of the floating dockyard was scheduled to be signed by Sri Lanka with the Goa Dockyard Company of India on 22 March 2022. However, the agreement between the two countries has already been signed by authorities on 15 March. It was signed on behalf of Sri Lanka by the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Kamal Gunaratne and the Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Bagle. This agreement was also reached under the guise of ‘pending cabinet approval’. This agreement with India has been reached despite a previous Cabinet decision was taken on 19 February 2020 to acquire the floating dock under international competitive bidding system.
Following all these agreements, the Cabinet Memorandum dated 18 March sought that Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugethenna be authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the Sri Lanka Navy.
Following all these agreements, the Cabinet Memorandum dated 18 March requested that the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugethenna, be authorised to sign the contract on behalf of the Sri Lanka Navy. Experts say that with this agreement, India will be able to make serious interventions in country’s maritime security process, including Sri Lankan naval vessels.
The third is a Cabinet Memorandum titled ‘Providing, Establishing and Commissioning the Maritime Search and Rescue Coordinating Centre’. It describes the background to the agreement, citing the non-implementation of the Cabinet decision of 26 April 2017 to establish a maritime rescue coordinating centre in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the centre is to be built using USD 6 million provided by Delhi and has been approved by the Cabinet, dated 9 October 2019. Bharath Electronics Limited, the company selected to set up the centre, manufactures electronics and systems for the Indian military forces and comes under the direct purview of Indian Ministry of Defence.
This agreement, signed in advance, is a lengthy one. Although, it is said that the centre will be set up on the subject of national security as mentioned in the Vistas of Prosperity policy statement, political analysts allege India’s geopolitical fear on China’s presence in Sri Lanka’s maritime area has led to the establishment of the centre.
The fourth agreement is the Cabinet Memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Technology entitled ‘Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and the Acquisition of Financial Assistance for the Implementation of the Sri Lanka Unified Digital Identity Framework’. Based on discussions between President Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2019, it is said that this will receive a financial grant guaranteed by the Indian High Commissioner in December 2021. It states that the Cabinet Paper submitted by the President on 28 January to obtain the relevant financial facilities was approved by Cabinet on 7 February.
Critics say the digital system collects data on blood type, fingerprints, and facial identities, for good or bad reasons. They further point out that this well-intentioned initiative risks making it easier for Indian security intelligence to acquire the nation’s own database. However, this agreement has not yet been signed and the relevant draft has been prepared.
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