
Colombo – April 26: The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) has raised serious concerns over the potential security and geopolitical risks of allowing an Indian company involved in warship and submarine manufacturing to begin operations at the Colombo Port.
Speaking at a public meeting held in support of the party’s campaign for the upcoming local government elections, FSP Education Secretary Pubudu Jayagoda claimed that India is set to acquire a 52% stake in the Colombo Dockyard Company, a shareholding previously held by Japan.
Jayagoda warned that enabling Indian military manufacturing in Sri Lanka—particularly at a critical port like Colombo—could provoke strategic hostility from Pakistan, especially amid escalating military tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
“If Indian warship production begins at the Colombo Port, who will take responsibility if Pakistan retaliates with an attack?” he asked. “At a time when military tensions between India and Pakistan are rising, is it wise for Sri Lanka to allow its territory to become an Indian military outpost?”
Jayagoda suggested that Sri Lanka was placing itself at the center of a regional power struggle without fully considering the potential consequences, and questioned whether the government had conducted any national security assessment before making such a decision.
The FSP also criticized the lack of transparency in the transfer of dockyard ownership and emphasized that the island should maintain strategic neutrality, particularly in a region already fraught with rivalries.
This warning from the FSP comes amid growing public and political scrutiny over foreign control of key infrastructure in Sri Lanka, particularly ports and industrial zones, as the country balances competing diplomatic and commercial interests from regional powers including India, China, and Japan.
While the government has not officially confirmed the stake transfer or the nature of the Indian company’s activities, calls are mounting for clarity, oversight, and a clear national policy on military-industrial operations involving foreign powers.