ISTANBUL 

Japan and Sri Lanka on Monday enhanced their defense ties, with Tokyo sending unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Colombo.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday hosted Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Tokyo, according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

Ishiba expressed his wishes to realize a "free and open" Indo-Pacific and to further develop the "comprehensive partnership” with Sri Lanka, based on the “traditional and friendly relations.”

He said “the peace and stability in Sri Lanka is indispensable for the peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific,” and that it is important to “strengthen security cooperation” with Sri Lanka.

Japan has decided to “provide UAVs for monitoring, surveillance, and disaster relief as the first project of OSA (Official Security Assistance) to Sri Lanka,” he added.

For his part, Anura “expressed gratitude for Japan’s support in debt restructuring & ongoing assistance to Sri Lanka’s growth,” he said through the US social media company X.

According to a joint statement released after the meeting, both sides “confirmed the importance of deepening defense and security cooperation between the two countries and enhancing the security and deterrence capabilities of Sri Lanka to ensure the peace and stability of the Indian Ocean Region.”

The statement added that both sides “welcomed the provision of advanced Japanese UAVs for enhancing maritime surveillance and disaster relief capabilities.”

Following the meeting, the two sides signed and exchanged notes for over $3 million for the Japanese FY2025 “Official Security Assistance (OSA)” under which Japan will provide Sri Lanka with UAVs.

OSA is a grant aid cooperation framework which provides equipment and supplies, as well as assistance for the development of infrastructures to armed forces and other related organizations of recipient countries.