The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) has called on the public, trade unions, and civil society organizations to unite in opposing the reported acquisition of a 51% controlling stake in Colombo Dockyard Ltd by India’s Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, a company owned by the Indian Ministry of Defence. In a statement titled “Hands off our sovereignty: Colombo Dockyard must remain Sri Lankan,” CPSL General Secretary Dr. G. Weerasinghe condemned the deal as more than a commercial transaction, describing it as a strategic encroachment on Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and maritime independence.
Dr. Weerasinghe highlighted that Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, a key part of India’s military-industrial complex responsible for building submarines and warships for the Indian Navy, views the acquisition as a gateway to further geopolitical ambitions in the Indian Ocean. The Colombo Dockyard, located at a vital node of Indian Ocean maritime trade routes, is not only central to Sri Lanka’s maritime economy but also crucial to national security and industrialization. It has expertise in specialized technologies such as fast attack craft construction and had been operating profitably until the economic crisis in 2022.
The CPSL emphasized that allowing a foreign military-linked entity to control Colombo Dockyard would amount to surrendering a critical aspect of national autonomy. While the purchase price of US$52.9 million is a small fraction of Sri Lanka’s annual budget, the party characterized the acquisition as infiltration rather than investment. The statement further placed this move within a wider context of India’s increasing involvement in Sri Lanka, referencing joint infrastructure projects in Colombo, Trincomalee, and Kankesanthurai, as well as secretive military agreements and controversial port handovers under the current government.
The Communist Party demanded an immediate reversal of the Colombo Dockyard acquisition with the state regaining full control, called for full transparency regarding all agreements signed with India related to ports and military cooperation, and urged the establishment of legislative safeguards to prevent foreign military-linked takeovers of strategic assets. The CPSL warned that Sri Lanka must resist becoming a pawn in regional power struggles and firmly asserted that the country’s sovereignty is not for sale.
