May 14, 2025 06:58 am (IST)
Follow us:
facebook-white sharing button
twitter-white sharing button
instagram-white sharing button
youtube-white sharing button
'Had Indira Gandhi been alive, I would've asked her why PoK was not taken back in Simla Agreement': Himanta Biswa Sarma | India's stand demanding vacation of Pak-occupied Kashmir unchanged: MEA | PM Modi visits Adampur Air Base days after Operation Sindoor | Jammu and Kashmir: Three Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists killed in encounter with security forces in Shopian | US: Two Indian students die in road mishap in Pennsylvania | Air India, IndiGo cancel flights to 7 airports located in several border cities as safety measure | US, China agree to pause tariff war for 90 days, will slash reciprocal duties by 115 percent | India struck Malir Cantonment in Karachi: IAF's big revelation on Operation Sindoor | Nuclear blackmailing will not be tolerated, Operation Sindoor not over: PM Modi in address to nation | Military bases, equipment, systems operational, ready for next mission if required: Armed Forces on Operation Sindoor
The naval exercise was set to take place just weeks ahead of PM Modi's visit to Colombo. (Image credit: PIB)

Sri Lanka drops naval drill with Pakistan near Trincomalee after India airs security concerns

| @indiablooms | Apr 20, 2025, at 10:04 pm

Colombo/ New Delhi: A planned joint naval exercise between Pakistan and Sri Lanka near the strategically vital Trincomalee harbour was quietly called off weeks ago after India raised objections, PTI reported, citing sources.

The drills, part of routine military ties between Colombo and Islamabad, were shelved following New Delhi’s intervention.

The timing—just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Colombo—heightened India’s concerns.

While there was no official announcement from Sri Lanka or Pakistan, it is understood that “India communicated its apprehensions directly to Sri Lankan authorities, prompting the cancellation.”

Trincomalee, on Sri Lanka’s northeastern coast, is considered a strategic asset with the potential to dominate the Bay of Bengal and northeast Indian Ocean.

Experts suggest India’s unease stemmed from Pakistan’s close naval ties with China, raising the possibility of increased Chinese maritime presence through Pakistani warships.

India has had prior concerns—such as the docking of China’s tracking ship Yuan Wang in Hambantota in 2022 and another Chinese vessel in Colombo a year later.

In recent years, India has stepped up its strategic engagement in Sri Lanka, especially in Trincomalee, with plans to develop the area into a regional energy hub.

During Modi’s visit, India, Sri Lanka, and the UAE signed a landmark deal for this purpose.

A defence pact was also inked, institutionalising military cooperation nearly four decades after relations were strained by the Indian Peace Keeping Force’s intervention.

India has also provided military aid, including a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft in 2022 to support Sri Lanka’s security needs.

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.