This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Government officials have finalised a draft defence cooperation agreement (via Kautilya) between India and Sri Lanka.
The idea of a defence cooperation agreement was first discussed in October 2003 when Ranil Wickremesinghe was Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the National Democratic Alliance was in power in New Delhi. There are new governments in place in both capitals but the seamless finalisation of the draft agreement reflects a shared perception of security issues on both sides of the Palk Straits. It is no secret that this convergence arises mainly from the threat posed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and its goal of a separate Tamil state in the North-East…
At the same time the draft defence cooperation agreement, which is likely to be signed by the end of the year, is not meant to encourage the Sri Lankan Government to go for a military solution to the Tamil question. From available details of the draft, it is clear that the agreement will seek to regularise the existing cooperation between the defence establishments of the two countries, and will not in any way work against India’s commitment to a peaceful, political solution to the Sri Lankan conflict. [Hindu]
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