State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardene said plans are afoot to elevate the standards of the Sri Lankan Navy while strengthening it with high tech facilities. As a part of the plan, the government has imported a fully armoured warship for the Sri Lankan Navy from India.
The new warship claims to be the largest ship with the Sri Lanka Navy.
The plan to modernise Sri Lanka Navy comes as a result of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe paying special attention to the important role played by the Sri Lanka Navy in securing Sri Lanka’s sea lines, State Minister Wijewardene said.
The Defense State Minister said the Sri Lanka Navy holds the responsibility of deterring substance smuggling into the country, especially from Pakistan, while monitoring illegal fishing activities in the northern sea area.
State Minister Wijewardena said the government will import a similar warship in the the future.
He was speaking at a media briefing at Sirikotha yesterday morning.