(UDHAYAM, COLOMBO) – Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said China, Pakistan, Ukraine, Russia and Israel were the countries that supplied military equipment in the fight against terrorism at that time whereas India helped immensely in the provision of training for the security forces.
In an interview with a prominent online news portal, he stated that 80 % of Sri Lanka military’s overseas training had been provided by India and Pakistan over the years, unlike Pakistan yet India could not supply weapons due to the Tamil Nadu factor.
“Yet, they helped us in so many ways by way of training our officers,” he pointed out.
He added that Sri Lanka’s military is primarily equipped with Chinese weapons for years.
“We depended on China for weapons. The other countries that provided us with war equipment are Pakistan, Israel, Ukraine and Russia,” he said.
Israel supplied Dvora and Kaffir fighter jets for Navy whereas armoured tankers and MiG aircrafts arrived from Ukraine and Russia, and ammunition from Pakistan.