In the recent past, no Indian Defence Minister has visited Sri Lanka. Even during the decisive phase of the war in Sri Lanka’s North and East, no Indian Defence Minister visited the country.
In 2008, during the Mahinda Rajapaksa government, there were reports that Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka at a time when the Government was launching operations to win the war. The Mahinda government had even published on its National Security website that Indian Defence Minister A. K. Antony was scheduled to visit Sri Lanka. However, instead of Antony, India’s National Security Adviser, Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary visited Sri Lanka.
During Chandrika Kumaratunga’s regime, in 2000, the name of an Indian Defence Minister came to prominence in connection with Sri Lanka. This was at a time when the LTTE was on the verge of conquering Jaffna. The Sri Lankan Army Commander and the Foreign Minister travelled to India to meet Defence Minister George Fernandes and discuss the fate of the Sri Lankan Army.
The Indian Defence Minister’s position was that the Indian Army could not intervene to rescue the Sri Lankan troops who were marooned inside Jaffna Fort. He stated that, if the LTTE were to capture Jaffna with the agreement of both the Sri Lankan Government and the LTTE, India could assist in evacuating the troops from Jaffna.
The next occasion when the name of an Indian Defence Minister was prominently mentioned in the Sri Lankan media was in September 2023, when the incumbent Indian Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, cancelled his visit at the eleventh hour. The Defence Minister had been scheduled to meet President Ranil Wickremesinghe and visit Trincomalee and Nuwara Eliya. However, he cancelled the visit without giving any reason. Indian media reports highlighted Sri Lanka’s decision to allow a Chinese research vessel to visit the country as the reason behind the cancellation.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan media have reported that the same Indian Defence Minister is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka in September. This would be the first instance in decades of an Indian Defence Minister visiting Sri Lanka.
What the Indian Defence Minister has in store, however, remains unknown.
