The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) on Monday (17) accused the government of undermining the country’s non-aligned stance by entering a new defence partnership with the United States.
The defence cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on November 14 by US Ambassador Julie Chung, Montana National Guard Adjutant General Brigadier General Trenton Gibson, and Sri Lanka’s Secretary of Defence, Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Sampath Thuyacontha.
The pact links the Sri Lankan armed forces with the Montana National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard District 13 under Washington’s State Partnership Program.
FSP Central Committee member Pubudu Jayagoda said the agreement — framed by both governments as supporting regional stability, maritime security and military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific — posed “serious risks” to Sri Lanka’s security and could draw the island into U.S.-led geopolitical alignments at a time of heightened global tensions, including the war in Ukraine and nuclear-related flashpoints.
Jayagoda said the MoU was signed without parliamentary scrutiny, accusing the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) of withholding information on a series of defence arrangements concluded this year with India, Japan and now the United States.
He warned the move must be viewed in the context of intensifying pressure on China, citing actions in the South China Sea and U.S. rhetoric on Venezuela.
The FSP called for the formation of a “common front” to oppose the deal and urged the NPP government to clarify why it was pursuing defence pacts with major powers “at the expense of Sri Lanka’s traditional non-aligned policy.”
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