Colombo: Japan wants Sri Lanka’s southern Hambantota port to be “free of military activities”, the visiting Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onedera has said amid concerns in the region over the leasing of the facility to China.
Onedera, who arrived here on Tuesday, is the first Japanese defence minister ever to visit Sri Lanka.
His visit comes amid the regional concerns over growing Chinese influence in Sri Lanka. Speaking to the Japanese NHK television after his meetings with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Onedera said he had raised the Chinese issue with Sri Lanka.
“Despite the lease there was an agreement that port remains free of military activities,” Onedera was quoted as saying by NHK. He is also scheduled to visit Hambantota. Sri Lanka and China have entered into a 99-year lease of the Hambantota port which will enable the Chinese to set up an industrial park around the sea port. (PTI)
