Amidst Looming China, India To Transfer Dornier Reconnaissance Aircraft To Sri Lanka 

In a bid to boost defence collaboration with Sri Lanka, India is looking to transfer a Dornier reconnaissance aircraft to the island nation, reports Times Now News. This follows the recent conclusion of a joint military exercise between the two countries.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has been wooed by both China and India, with the former extending massive amounts of credit to build large-scale infrastructure projects such as the Hambantota port.

The Chinese Navy also docked its submarines in the country’s ports, leading to a strong protest from India. Since then, the Sri Lankan government has barred any foreign ‘offensive’ military systems from its territory.

India’s successful outreach to Sri Lanka is not an exception; other countries in the region, such as the Maldives and Bangladesh, have also been warming up to the idea of defence cooperation with India.

Talks are on with Bangladesh over joint-patrolling of the porous India-Bangladesh border.

A Dornier aircraft will also be supplied by India to the Maldives, where a government seen to be in favour of closer ties with India has just won elections.