Overview

• Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi started a September 22–25 visit that includes meetings with Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and the island’s three service chiefs to discuss maritime security, capability building, training and broader defence cooperation.
• He will take part in the 12th Galle Dialogue 2025 in Colombo, which focuses on the maritime outlook of the Indian Ocean under changing dynamics.
• Indian Navy frigate INS Satpura arrived in Colombo for professional interactions that include rescue and force protection drills, as well as personnel exchanges and sports activities with the Sri Lanka Navy.
• The two navies maintain routine ties through the Annual Defence Dialogue, staff talks, SLINEX exercises, passage exercises, and training and hydrography exchanges.
• Reporting notes New Delhi’s concern over China’s growing influence in Sri Lanka, with June’s decision by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders to acquire a controlling stake in Colombo Dockyard cited as expanding India’s presence.