By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):Australia’s Defence Force is set to forge closer military ties with Sri Lanka and other countries in the north-east Indian Ocean, as the federal government weighs human rights concerns against urgent regional security fears.

Following the new Defence Strategic Review, published in abridged declassified form last week, the government is preparing to expand the longstanding Defence Cooperation Program beyond the Pacific, South-East Asia and south Asia, into countries on the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.

This expanded program is expected to include Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Bangladesh – all of which have previously expressed a desire for more engagement.

It is also likely to entail a further broadening of ties with India, which is a member of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, alongside Australia, Japan and the United States.

But the expansion will not include Myanmar, whose military overthrew the democratically elected government in 2021 and jailed its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Defence Cooperation Program involves conducting joint military exercises, training partner countries’ personnel, participating in exchanges and secondments, hosting visits, holding strategic dialogues and contributing infrastructure support. It can also involve engaging in military operations together.

Last year’s October budget showed the long-running program involved 13 countries in the Pacific, most substantially Papua New Guinea, and another eight in South-East Asia. It is understood to already also include Pakistan, though the country was not listed by name.

The Saturday Paper asked the Defence Department this week for a list of other countries in which the program operates, and the current expenditure in each. It declined to provide this information.

“Details of the Defence Cooperation Program will be published as part of the Defence Portfolio Budget Statement on Budget night next Tuesday,” the department said in a statement.

The October budget allocated the program just under $400 million, including $34.4 million across South-East Asia, $50 million for PNG and $126 million across the wider Pacific.

Another $670,000 was allocated to the Defence International Training Centre, at which some partner countries’ forces receive training in Australia.

Defence Minister Richard Marles would not say which countries will now be added, but confirmed the north-east Indian Ocean is an additional focus. Marles insisted human rights issues in partner countries had always been factored into the program’s operations.

“He emphasized that this was “within the context and the parameters” of those human rights considerations. “But clearly we need to be … deeply engaged in our region, and the north-eastern Indian Ocean is part of our region.”

The Defence Strategic Review does not specify which countries the program expansion should include. One of those who helped write the review document, Professor Peter Dean, of Sydney University’s United States Studies Centre, says those decisions are a matter for government.

01. Chairman of the National Delimitation Committee Mahinda Deshapriya says the final Committee report will be submitted in around the third week of May; reveals about 400 proposals received on the Committee’s interim report; asserts these proposals will be analysed and reviewed and the observations will be shared with the relevant stakeholders.

02. Sri Lanka’s Chief Free Trade Agreement Negotiator at the International Trade Office established at the Presidential Secretariat K.J. Weerasinghe says SL and Bangladesh plan to hold an introductory meeting virtually on May 29 to commence negotiations for the proposed Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which is expected to eventually lead to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

03. CBSL data show Sri Lanka’s external reserves amount to US$ 2,755 million ending April, up from US$ 2,694 million in March: The reserves continue to carry the US$ 1.4 billion equivalence of Chinese Yuan denominated swap facility from China’s People’s Bank obtained two years ago.

04. Disaster Management Centre report says more than 6,000 families have been affected by adverse weather conditions: a total of 6,345 people from 1,634 families in 10 districts including Kalutara, Gampaha, Badulla, Trincomalee, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Puttalam and Kurunegala; adds 87 houses have been partially damaged due to strong winds and flooding.

05. Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says the customs duty concession of Rs. 3 provided for a kilo of wheat flour will be removed; asserts the reimposition of the duty will aim the management of wheat flour prices to protect the 90 per cent of subsistence level paddy farmers; stresses this will not affect in wheat flour price.

06. Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara says 211MW of renewable energy has been added in to the Energy Mix in 2022, of which 146MW as RoofTop Solar; adds capacity addition of 3075MW of renewable energy and 1525MW of storage are expected between 2027 – 2030.

07. Sri Lanka’s monthly tourism earnings consistently stay above US$ 160 million a month in 2023: The April inflows brought the cumulative tourism income to US$ 696.3 million the first four months of 2023, up 17.8% from the same period in 2022: In March 125,495 tourists arrived in SL and in April, 105,498, bringing the cumulative arrivals to 441,177.

08. Bodies of two schoolboys washed ashore to Kokkuwil beach: The deceased identified as 16-year old students: Preliminary investigations reveal these two boys might have drowned after going to sea bathe: Investigations ongoing.

09. JVP/NPP Leader MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake says 88% of the country’s total population is borrowing, defaulting on loans or mortgaging items; laments 68% of the population has reduced the amount of food they eat or the number of meals they consume, and the people have been coerced into eating food that they don’t like; adds 40% of the population has slashed access to education and healthcare for children.

10. Amritha Incense Sticks, a leader and pioneer in the locally produced incense stick market, achieves a historic milestone by acquiring Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) certification: Amritha Incense Sticks are manufactured and distributed by Darley Butler & Company Ltd.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): More than 6,000 people have been affected by the existing adverse weather conditions, announced the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).

According to a report by the Centre, a total of 6,345 people from 1,634 families in 10 districts have been affected by the adverse weather conditions, and these groups are from districts such as Kalutara, Gampaha, Badulla, Trincomalee, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Puttalam and Kurunegala.

In addition, 87 houses have been partially damaged due to strong winds and flooding.

The maximum rainfall of 117.4mm was reported from Jaffna, according to the Department of Meteorology.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The government will be removing the customs duty concession of Rs. 3 per kilo provided for wheat flour, revealed Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

Accordingly, the customs duty of Rs. 3 per kilo on wheat flour will be re-imposed and wheat flour prices will be managed to protect the 90 per cent of subsistence level paddy farmers, he added.

The removal, however, will not affect the price of wheat flour, the Minister pointed out addressing the media after attending an event held in Awissawella yesterday (07).

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): The National Delimitation Committee chaired by former Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya is set to submit its final report in around the third week of May.

The Committee has reportedly received almost 400 proposals from various parties regarding its interim report submitted to the Prime Minister in April, 2023, and these proposals are currently being analysed and reviewed, Committee Chief Deshapriya noted.

Accordingly, the Committee’s observations will be shared with the relevant stakeholders, including political parties, civil society activists and other concerned groups, he added.

The National Delimitation Committee was formed in 2020 aiming the slashing of the number of local government members to around 4,000, in the objective of streamlining the administration and ensuring more efficient governance at the local governance bodies.

By: Isuru Parakrama

Colombo (LNW): Water supply will be suspended for ten hours in several areas in the Colombo District tomorrow (08), the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) announced.

Accordingly, water supply will be suspended from 10 am to 8 pm tomorrow in the following areas;

• Kolonnawa Urban Council
• Moragasmulla
• Rajagiriya
• Obesekarapura
• Bandaranayakepura
• Ethul Kotte
• Nawala-Koswatte
• stretch of main road from Rajagiriya to Open University of Colombo (OUSL)
• Nawala, and all adjoining roads.