President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has revealed that Sri Lanka’s much-hyped agreement with Elon Musk’s Starlink has hit a major national security roadblock.
In a candid response during a recent television interview, the President disclosed that the government is re-evaluating the deal with the satellite internet giant due to critical gaps in data access. Originally slated for an April launch, the Starlink service is now in limbo, with national security concerns taking center stage.
“We don’t have access to Starlink’s data. Unlike other telecom service providers in the country, Starlink’s setup doesn’t allow the Sri Lankan government to retrieve necessary information during emergencies,” the President said.
This lack of access, he explained, creates a serious vulnerability. “Whether it was the shooting inside a courthouse or the recent threat in Arugam Bay, we were able to respond swiftly thanks to data from local telecoms. Starlink doesn’t offer us that capability,” he warned.
Crucially, Starlink’s infrastructure lacks a local connector, meaning that all user data bypasses Sri Lanka’s domestic systems. That, according to the President, is unacceptable.
He stressed that such oversights should never have been allowed in the original agreement, signed under the previous administration. “Data access is not a luxury. It’s a matter of national security,” he stated.
The President further revealed that the National Security Council has flagged this issue multiple times, raising red flags about the consequences of entering into agreements that sideline state oversight.
As of now, the future of Starlink in Sri Lanka remains uncertain. The message from President Anura Kumara Dissanayake is clear: unless the data stays accessible, the deal stays off the table.
