It is thankful Sri Lanka did not sign SOFA with U.S. - former Foreign Secretary

• Says a lot of people advocated for SOFA at that time, but he was thankful that Sri Lanka did not sign it

By Kelum Bandara

In the backdrop of an Iranian warship sinking off in Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) after a U.S. submarine attack, former Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said it was ‘ thankfully’ that Sri Lanka had not signed the Status of Force Agreement with the U.S. despite many people advocating for it at that time.  
A SOFA is an international treaty that defines the legal rights, privileges, and obligations of foreign military personnel operating in a host country. In Sri Lanka, discussions on a SOFA surfaced during the time of the Yahapalana government, particularly in the context of bilateral military cooperation with the United States, but the country never signed it.  
Mr. Aryasinha who served as the Foreign Secretary at that time said that a lot of people advocated for SOFA at that time, but he was thankful that Sri Lanka did not sign it.  
He was delivering his remarks at the launch of National Security Strategy for Sri Lanka - 2026 by Pathfinder Foundation yesterday.  
“There are a lot of people advocating for SOFA. There have been a lot of people advocating to tie up militarily with China. Thank god we are not. As much as there has been advocacy to tie up with India,” he said.   
Mr. Aryasinha served as Sri Lanka’s ambassador in various capitals including Washington DC.  
Former Navy Commander Admiral (Rtd) Prof. Jayanath Colombage said the national security strategy proposed by Pathfinder Foundation gives an insight to the spectrum covering maritime domain, maritime security.  
“When we started the 2019 Pathfinder National Security Strategy, we spoke about maritime domain awareness. Now, it is multi-domain awareness. It is not only the surface of the water. Now we have to think of the subsurface,” he said.  
Commenting on the attack on an Iranian vessel, he said it gives a huge impetus to improve Sri Lanka’s technological capabilities in maritime surveillance and maritime response.