Sri Lankan
President RanilWickremesinghe said the Sri Lankan navy did not have the
capacity to send a ship by itself. The navy had told him that if they were to
go, they would like to go with some cover.
However, Sri
Lanka does not want any Israeli participation in this freedom of navigation operation.
We will support whatever measures are taken by the Arab world to mitigate the
problems in the Middle East.”
President
RanilWickremesinghe was talking to the Arab ambassadors accredited to Colombo
that with regard to Sri Lankan Navy deployment to the Red Sea
The Sri Lankan government’s decision to send a Navy ship
to the Red Sea, where ships affiliated with Israel have come under attack by
Yemen’s Houthi faction, has raised concerns in the island nation especially
when they were facing a severe economic crisis.
Meanwhile the
Container terminals at Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port have seen daily volumes surge
as much as 80 percent, a top official said, as the Port stepped in as the
transshipment hub for Middle Eastern destinations by-passed by vessels over
Houthi attacks.