• Since the detection of the first case in January 2020, Sri Lanka has successfully managed two waves of the pandemic

Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe’s visit to Sri Lanka in April, 2021 has sparked a conversation on strengthening defence ties between the two countries, and highlighted the significance of adding military interaction as a new dimension to the existing solid bilateral relationship, a statement from the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka said.  

Issuing a statement, it said since the detection of the first case in January 2020, Sri Lanka has successfully managed two waves of the pandemic, but struggling to curb the third wave that began in mid-April. The People’s Liberation Army of China announced they will donate 300,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines to the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the consignment would arrive on 28th August. 

 
“This is not the first time China’s PLA lends a helping hand during the pandemic. There are loads of achievements of interaction between the two Armed Forces in recent years, especially on the aspects of capacity building and experience sharing, as well as gifts from China.  

China donated security equipment to the Sri Lankan government on their request, following the Easter Sunday terror attacks, which killed over 250 people on April 21.  

In a statement, the Chinese Embassy in Colombo said the equipment was handed over to the Sri Lankan government at a ceremony held at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo with the attendance of the former President Maithripala Sirisena and China’s former Ambassador to Sri Lanka Cheng Xueyuan.  
According to the statement, the equipment worth an estimated USD 4.2 million was donated following a request from the Sri Lankan government. The emergency equipment includes 500 hand held metal detectors, 25 walk through safety inspection gates, 50 X-ray security inspection systems, 25 hand held vehicle scanners, three explosive detectors and three explosives and narcotics trace detectors. Besides the equipment, China also sent a technical team to Sri Lanka for installation and training.    Sri Lanka’s former Defense Secretary Shantha Kottegoda said at the handover ceremony that following the April 21 bombings, the Sri Lankan government had requested China and other friendly nations to help strengthen Sri Lanka’s security capacity.  

On 22nd August 2019, China gifted a frigate to the Sri Lanka Navy and named it after  King “Parakramabahu”.  The former President Sirisena thanked the Chinese government for donating a capital ship with advance sensors and weaponry to the Sri Lanka Navy. The frigate is 112 metres long and 12.4 metres wide, has a full displacement of 2,300 tons and can carry 110 officers and sailors.  

Blooming-Lotus-Shaped Auditorium Complex as Friendship Ambassador 
On 15th December 2018, a China-aided office and auditorium complex were handed over to the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyatalawa. The handing over ceremony was inaugurated by former President Maithripala Sirisena and former Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan in the presence of the Commander of Sri Lanka Army Lt. General Mahesh Senanayake, a Chinese military delegation led by Major General Shen Jun, as well as other senior army officers from both Sri Lanka and China.  

This state-of-the-art building was constructed in the shape of a lotus, which is the national flower of Sri Lanka, and it serves as an office, teaching and assembly space for the staff and cadets of the Sri Lanka Military Academy. 
The new office and auditorium complex in the Sri Lanka Military Academy covers a total floor area of 7,200 sq. metres. The project commenced construction in October 2014, and was designed, constructed, and supervised by the Academy of Military Science of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.