China maintained bonded warehouses at the ports of Colombo and Galle during the final phase of Sri Lanka’s civil war, allowing security forces to draw weapons immediately against authorisation letters from the Defence Ministry, former Navy Commander Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage has said.

Speaking publicly on Beijing’s wartime role, Colombage described the 2006–2009 arrangement as “like carrying a shopping list, going to a weapons supermarket. You collect what you want, use it, and pay later.” He said the warehouses were stocked in advance with arms, ammunition, artillery, mortars, radars, armoured vehicles, battle tanks, aircraft and naval vessels.

Colombage characterised China’s military support during the closing years of the conflict as “paramount” in achieving victory. While Sri Lanka also received assistance from India, the United States, Iran, Russia, Ukraine and Pakistan, he said many of those partners restricted lethal supplies, withheld ammunition, or delivered platforms such as warships without weapons. China, by contrast, provided comprehensive support and had been a defence partner since 1971.

The former commander placed the bonded-warehouse model within Beijing’s broader Indian Ocean push from around 2005. He noted Sri Lanka lies roughly 12 nautical miles from one of the world’s busiest east-west shipping lanes, which sees close to 300 ships pass daily, giving the island heightened geo-strategic value.

Colombage also described how Chinese firms transitioned rapidly from defence supply to post-war infrastructure construction, citing the Southern Expressway, Norochcholai Power Plant and Colombo International Container Terminal (all 2011), and the Katunayake–Colombo Expressway and Mattala Airport (both 2013). “All those companies that were in Colombo providing weapons instantly became construction companies,” he said, attributing the speed of the pivot to state ownership and pre-existing local offices.

His remarks land during the week marking the 17th anniversary of the end of the conflict on May 19, 2009, a period during which Wimal Weerawansa and others have separately reopened debate over who deserves credit for the military victory.

Source: NewsFirst.