Pakistan proposes defence deal with Sri Lanka

[HAIDER]

August 1, 2008 (AFP) - Pakistan, a key supplier of small arms to Sri Lanka, has proposed a defence pact to boost military cooperation between the two countries, Pakistani officials said Friday.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi made the offer to his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollegama on the sidelines of a South Asian meeting in Colombo, the officials said.

"A (draft) defence cooperation agreement has been given to Sri Lanka," said a senior Pakistani official who did not wish to be named.

India has been uneasy about the growing military clout of its arch-rival Pakistan in Sri Lanka, which New Delhi regards as being within its sphere of geo-political influence.

Islamabad is already an important supplier of small arms and ammunition to Sri Lankan security forces, who are battling separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, and Pakistan is also training a large number of Sri Lankan military personnel.

Indian diplomats have privately raised concerns about closer defence ties between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, which also buys military hardware from China and Israel as well as from former Soviet Union states.

"We want Sri Lanka to quickly move on that (the draft agreement)," the Pakistan diplomatic official said, adding the pact was intended to bring the two sides closer.

There was no immediate comment from Sri Lankan authorities on the Pakistani proposal.

Details of the defence pact offer were not immediately available.


Pakistan foreign minister Qureshi told reporters here Thursday after meeting with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee that military cooperation between Pakistan and Sri Lanka did not figure in their talks.

Sri Lanka has proposed a defence cooperation pact with India, but New Delhi has yet to respond.

India trains Sri Lankan military personnel, but has an embargo on selling lethal weapons to its smaller neighbour.

India has maintained a hands-off policy toward Sri Lanka after losing 1,200 soldiers while battling Tamil rebels on the island between 1987 and 1990.

Sri Lankan forces are locked in combat with Tamil rebels and claim they have the upper hand after driving the guerrillas from their eastern stronghold.

Sri Lanka, Pakistan defence deal proposed - LANKA BUSINESS ONLINE

 

[Spring Onion]

Great News

Pakistan needs to cooperate with Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh in defence related things more and more

 

[Energon]

Great News

Pakistan needs to cooperate with Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh in defence related things more and more

With what objective in mind? These countries are unstable and have militant elements wreaking havoc; experiences of other countries show that it is better to just let these nations be, offer humanitarian aid when needed and not infuse them with small arms and other weapons that can be used for offensive measures, particularly in the civil war setting. There are far too many examples from around the world to dismiss the potential outfall.

If you think this will be some way to negate India, that is highly unlikely to have as great an impact as you think. India holds far more sway with these nations on the economic front; this relationship is only likely to increase as India's economy grows stronger.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

With what objective in mind? These countries are unstable and have militant elements wreaking havoc;

One could say the same of the Indian wooing of Afghanistan, and these countries are not contiguous with Pakistan, so the fall out from instability and greater weaponisation will impact someone else.

 

[IceCold]

This kind of move is extremely necessarily specially when terrorists are being funded and raised in the neighborhood and world power turns a blind eye to it.

 

[Spring Onion]

With what objective in mind? These countries are unstable and have militant elements wreaking havoc; experiences of other countries show that it is better to just let these nations be, offer humanitarian aid when needed and not infuse them with small arms and other weapons that can be used for offensive measures, particularly in the civil war setting. There are far too many examples from around the world to dismiss the potential outfall..

for the same reason to make these countries equipped against the militant elements.

Plus whome would the governments of these countries use defence equipement as offensive measures against ????

If you think this will be some way to negate India, that is highly unlikely to have as great an impact as you think. India holds far more sway with these nations on the economic front; this relationship is only likely to increase as India's economy grows stronger.

your above comments show the insecurity the Indians feel out of merely the mention of any possible defence cooperation between Pakistan and these countries in future.

 

[Energon]

One could say the same of the Indian wooing of Afghanistan, and these countries are not contiguous with Pakistan, so the fall out from instability and greater weaponisation will impact someone else.

The Indian involvement in Afghanistan does not include arms transfers as far as I know. The only military link I'm aware of is training Afghani troops for counterinsurgency operations (a service offered to many militaries around the world including several prominent western ones) and the future plan of training pilots and technicians to operate their Soviet Era equipment.

The bulk of the "wooing" is being done through a wide array of infrastructure and social sector development schemes... which is exactly what I propose be done with the nations being mentioned in this thread.

your above comments show the insecurity the Indians feel out of merely the mention of any possible defence cooperation between Pakistan and these countries in future.

I have no idea what you perceived out of that statement, but your analysis of it here is a far cry from its intended purpose (unfortunately a fairly common phenomenon with you).
That statement again comes back to the primary query of the intention of building "more an more" defense ties' with the countries you list in post #2. If you think its going to be a "power balance" mechanism or a pincer move of some kind against India, its unlikely to work; and attempting to pursue this route will only result in heightened morbidity, mortality and general instability in the long term perspective. If Pakistan wants to build relationships with these nations, more power to them. The question is how they go about doing it. Simply flooding these places with small arms under the guise of "defense relations" will only result in disaster and further diminish Pakistan's credibility.

 

[blain2]

With what objective in mind? These countries are unstable and have militant elements wreaking havoc; experiences of other countries show that it is better to just let these nations be, offer humanitarian aid when needed and not infuse them with small arms and other weapons that can be used for offensive measures, particularly in the civil war setting. There are far too many examples from around the world to dismiss the potential outfall.

If you think this will be some way to negate India, that is highly unlikely to have as great an impact as you think. India holds far more sway with these nations on the economic front; this relationship is only likely to increase as India's economy grows stronger.

With the object of negating the influence of the 800 lbs gorilla on the block. None of these nations want to be beholden to India and have had their spats with the largest country in South Asia. India's inability to help address SL's concerns about its territorial integrity have led the Sri Lankans to approach others including China and Pakistan. There is a need for India to look inward (something that she rarely does now due to all of the hype around the "super powerdom" and external projection of influence, which will become a greater irritant for smaller neighbors as time goes by).

Economic ties with India are a good thing for all of South Asia including Pakistan. However economic ties do not negate the concerns of countries with regard to their security specially when India is seen as a party to that concern.

 

[GHATAK]

I don't have any concerns about military ties between Pak and srilanka.

 

[Energon]

With the object of negating the influence of the 800 lbs gorilla on the block. None of these nations want to be beholden to India and have had their spats with the largest country in South Asia. India's inability to help address SL's concerns about its territorial integrity have led the Sri Lankans to approach others including China and Pakistan. There is a need for India to look inward (something that she rarely does now due to all of the hype around the "super powerdom" and external projection of influence, which will become a greater irritant for smaller neighbors as time goes by).

Economic ties with India are a good thing for all of South Asia including Pakistan. However economic ties do not negate the concerns of countries with regard to their security specially when India is seen as a party to that concern.

And how again is a "defence relationship" with Pakistan supposed to alleviate any of this?

 

[blain2]

And how again is a "defence relationship" with Pakistan supposed to alleviate any of this?

It does not alleviate all of the concerns (don't think we are presenting it as the panacea for all of SL's ills), however it provides them a different alternate which is more supportive of their national goals.

 

[Cheetah786]

And how again is a "defence relationship" with Pakistan supposed to alleviate any of this?

By P. Karunakharan
Colombo, Aug 1 (IANS) Pakistan, a key arms supplier to Sri Lanka, has urged President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government to expedite the proposed “futuristic” bilateral defence cooperation agreement between the two countries. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is here in Colombo for the 15th SAARC summit and held bilateral talks with his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama, said Thursday that the proposed defence pact would further bolster defence ties between the two countries.

“Pakistan has already put forward to Sri Lanka the draft proposal for a (bilateral) Defence Cooperation Agreement. We want Sri Lanka to quickly move on that, because it would be a futuristic draft agreement to bring us closer,” Qureshi said.

He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka had traditionally enjoyed close friendly relations “based on mutual respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in each other’s state”.

Claiming that Pakistan had been cooperating with Sri Lanka in its campaign against extremism and terrorism, Qureshi said his country had helped (militarily) Sri Lanka in difficult times in the past, as well as trained Sri Lankan army personnel and officers.

“It is a very satisfactory arrangement that we have now. Our current close military cooperation with Sri Lanka will certainly continue,” he said.

» Pakistan seeks to expedite defence pact with Sri Lanka - Thaindian News

I guess we are training the sri lankans 2 excellent any thing that can be done to help out our neighbor in time of need we should.

 

[blain2]

Training for SL Army is a very old thing. We have always had their cadets at the Services Academies (at least at the PMA). We also trained their Special Forces under a special arrangement in Zia's time.

 

[x_man]

While at Quetta in 2005. a contingent of Sri Lankan army officers visited PAF Samungli .Two of those officers were attending Pakistan Army Staff College, and 4 or 5 were at Infantry school ,Quetta..

Airforce academy had been receiving Sri Lankan cadets for GD(P) as well as Engg courses ..And PAF is also regularly sending officers on deputation to perform instructional duties on K-8s at their academy…

 

[Neo]

I don't have any concerns about military ties between Pak and srilanka.

You don't but your government does!