Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana raised concerns of the Sri Lanka Government — during his visit to Washington DC this week — with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, on the proposed Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the two countries.
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SOFA is another controversial agreement the US was proposing to the Acquisition and Cross Services Agreement (ACSA) signed first in 2007 and renewed in 2017.
The ACSA provides for joint military cooperation between Sri Lanka and the United States and includes logistic support, supplies, services and the use of airports and ports during “unforeseen circumstances”. While the 2007 ACSA permits US military vessels to anchor in Sri Lanka ports on a ‘one-off’ basis, the 2017 ACSA appears to be “open ended”.
A spokesman for the Sri Lankan delegation told the Sunday Times that Minister Marapana had raised issues on some of the provisions in SOFA (see Political Editor on pages 12 and 13), including the provision relating to immunity being provided to foreign servicemen on Sri Lankan soil. He said these were matters that related to diplomatic immunity, privileges and local laws.
He said he had consulted President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe prior to raising the Sri Lankan Government’s “concerns’ on some of the provisions of SOFA and that the US embassy in Colombo had already been apprised of these concerns.
The US Government agreed to further negotiate the proposed agreement through the “usual diplomatic channels”, which would initially be at a “technical level”.
Minister Marapana also met US National Security Adviser John Bolton at the White House on Friday. They discussed cooperation in counter terrorism, with specific areas to be clarified later. With the advent of an ISIS footprint in Sri Lanka, US support was likely to increase with its Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which sent a team to do forensic studies after the Easter Sunday bombings expected to continue its work in collaboration with the Sri Lankan security authorities in the area of cyber security and cracking ISIS codes through the internet.
During his talks with the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, David Hale, Minister Marapana and the Sri Lankan delegation were briefed about the US-led Global Coalition to defeat ISIS, but there was no word yet if Sri Lanka was to join this coalition.
President Sirisena with Chinese Prime Minister LI Keqiang
Among the topics discussed was the use of the Indian Ocean through a “rule based order”, a reference that the US uses aimed at neutralising the growing Chinese maritime influence in the seas. A joint statement released yesterday on the US-SL Partnership Dialogue says that “both governments welcomed ongoing bilateral security sector cooperation, including US support for demining, joint military engagement….and visits by US ships and military officials”.
Sri Lanka also welcomed the US$480-million compact by the US Millennium Challenge Corporation Board. It requires Congressional approval in the US and cabinet approval in Sri Lanka.
The Marapana visit to the US this week coincided with President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit earlier in the week to Beijing where he also signed a defence agreement with the Chinese government. Accordingly, China agreed to grant Rs.2.6 billion for the Sri Lankan security forces along with 100 jeeps to the Police Department.
President Sirisena met Chinese President Xi Jingpin on the sidelines of the Conference on Dialogue on Asian Civilisations which he attended. The discussions concentrated mainly on the Easter Sunday attacks in Colombo and Batticaloa and the heightened security situation in Sri Lanka following intelligence reports that ISIS influence was prevalent among a group of radicalised youth in the country.
He also met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Both, the US and China lost some of their officials during the Easter Sunday bombings while they were at the Shangri La hotel. The US official was from the Commerce Department, while the Chinese lost four scientists who were here from China’s Oceanographic Institute here as part of their study for their BRI (Belt and Road Initiative).
Foreign Minister Marapana with US National Security Advisor John Bolton
President Sirisena was accompanied by Ministers Thalatha Athukorala, Daya Gamage, State Minister Asoka Abeysinghe and Ambassador Karunasena Kodituwakku.
Foreign Minister Marapana was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and Sri Lanka’s EU Ambassador Rodney Perera who this week received his confirmation from President Sirisena as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the US. He is due to take up his posting in Washington DC in mid-June.
