Bad news for India as Sri Lanka signs massive Rs 400 crore deal with…, it’s not China or US but… it’s shocking for India because…

India-Sri Lanka relations: Sri Lanka and India have shared good relations from the times both the countries gained independence. India has helped Sri Lanka in various crisis situations including the recent economic and political crisis. However, the governments of Sri Lanka have been taking taking many decisions which have gone against India’s interests in the region. Continuing this trend, Sri Lanka has once again surprised India. In a recent setback for India-Sri Lanka defence relations, India’s southern neigbour has taken a decision that has reportedly shocked India. In its recent decision, Sri Lanka has refused to buy India’s fighter plane Tejas MK1 amid its air force development plan. Here are all the details you need to know.

For a background, Sri Lanka is upgrading its air force and for this, it was in talks to buy India’s fighter plane Tejas MK1. Interestingly, China had also offered the JF-17 fighter plane but Sri Lanka had other plans.

To everyone’s surprise, the Sri Lankan government led by President Anura Kumar Dissanayake has decided to go with updating its existing fighter jet fleet rather than buying new jets from India or China. For those unversed, Sri Lanka already has five Israeli fighter jets named Kfir fighter jets and it has now decided to upgrade the same. For the upgradation process, it has signed a $49 million with Israeli Aerospace Industries.

Sri Lanka lauds India’s ‘unwavering support’

In a positive statement towards India, Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Defence had earlier stated that the State Visit of the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reaffirmed the shared vision of both nations for a prosperous and secure Indian Ocean Region (IOR), strengthening further the profound historical, cultural, and strategic ties that unite both countries, as per a report from IANS.

“We deeply appreciate India’s unwavering support in strengthening Sri Lanka’s maritime capabilities, ensuring safer seas for both our nations and beyond. As we navigate the challenges of the 21st century, we must continue expanding our defence and security collaboration, particularly in addressing emerging threats such as maritime security challenges, drug trafficking, transnational crimes, and climate change,” said Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara.

(With inputs from agencies)

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