Looking to advance its push for a "free and open" Indo-Pacific and counter Chinese influence Japan sent its defense minister Sunday on a trip to India and Sri Lanka.
Itsunori Onodera first stops in India to meet with counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman and make a courtesy call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In Sri Lanka, Onodera will meet with President Maithripala Sirisena on Japanese assistance to the navy. This marks the first-ever trip by a Japanese defense minister to the country.
Onodera plans to visit Sri Lanka's Hambantota port, which is under a 99-year lease to a Chinese operator. Beijing has expanded its influence in the Indian Ocean area as part of its Belt and Road infrastructure initiative -- a trend Japan hopes to curb through greater security cooperation in the region.
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Kasun, was born in 28th Sept 1964, the grandson of the legendary author and linguist Munidasa Cumaratunga and son of SSP Bindu Kumaratunga and Winifred
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) backed by the Excise and Customs Department today launched a fresh drive to collect taxes including some Rs.780 billion listed as ‘collectable defaults’.
The Supreme Court today unanimously dismissed a Fundamental Rights petition filed by five convicts in the 1996 Krishanthi Kumaraswamy abduction, rape, and murder case.
A SriLankan airlines flight has been grounded in an airport in Indonesia due to a technical defect leaving 93 passengers stranded, an official said.
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