Japan will provide Sri Lanka with uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) for maritime surveillance and disaster response as the nations pledged to deepen security cooperation, including to enhance Colombo’s deterrence capabilities “to ensure the peace and stability” of the Indian Ocean region.
During their meeting in Tokyo in late September 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayaka “welcomed the steady progress in defense cooperation” through joint naval exercises and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s port calls to the South Asian island nation, according to a statement.
Sri Lanka, a nation of 22 million people that sits along one of the world’s busiest shipping routes, is increasing security engagements with nations such as India and Japan. China’s assertive moves in the Indian Ocean region, including deploying warships and submarines for intelligence gathering and other operations, have raised concern over Beijing’s geopolitical motives.
Japan, meanwhile, faces frequent territorial incursions by China Coast Guard ships in the East China Sea.
Dissanayaka and Ishiba reaffirmed the importance of cooperation in “maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and overflight,” according to their statement. They highlighted the significance of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in ensuring “a stable and peaceful international maritime order.”
The leaders also discussed Japan’s support for Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring as Colombo recovers from a financial crisis that caused fuel, food and medicine shortages. As of April 2025, Sri Lanka’s external debt exceeded $37 billion, according to the government.
China is among Sri Lanka’s major lenders, including for controversial projects through Beijing’s One Belt, One Road infrastructure scheme that left Colombo saddled with debt. For example, Sri Lanka was forced to lease the strategically located Hambantota Port to a Chinese state-owned firm in 2017 for 99 years after defaulting on loans from China’s state-run banks.
In contrast, Allies and Partners including India and Japan quickly provided Sri Lanka with favorable debt relief packages. Dissanayaka expressed gratitude for Tokyo’s assistance and said he expects expanded investment in Sri Lanka by Japanese companies, according to the joint statement.
The Japanese-manufactured UAVs will be the first assets delivered to Sri Lanka under Tokyo’s Official Security Assistance (OSA) program, which provides equipment, supplies and infrastructure development support to strengthen partner nations’ security and deterrence capabilities.
Tokyo recently announced a $2.6 million agreement under the OSA to provide the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) with heavy machinery for disaster response and road construction. The project will complement engineering equipment projects between the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force and the PNGDF, according to Japan’s Foreign Ministry.
Other OSA projects include high-speed patrol boats for the Indonesian Navy, an air traffic control system for the Mongolian Air Force, and coastal radar systems and other surveillance equipment for the Philippine Navy.
“As Japan is finding itself in the midst of the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II, it is essential for us to drastically strengthen our own defense capabilities as well as enhance the security and deterrence capabilities of like-minded countries in order to prevent unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force, ensure the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region in particular, and create a security environment desirable for Japan,” the Foreign Ministry stated.
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