Sarath Fonseka wants more focus on empowering Sri Lanka’s military
May 19, 2025 05:30 pm
Former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka, says he has not seen significant progress in the country’s military after the end of the war.
Speaking during a special “Big Focus” program on TV Derana, which was aired today in commemoration of National War Heroes’ Day, Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka mentioned that a significant number of the tanks used during the war have been destroyed.
Further elaborating, he said:
“I wholeheartedly disagree with the claim that there has been progress in the military over the past 16 years since the war ended. Let me give you an example: when I was in the war, we had 80 tanks. By the time the war ended, 50 of them were destroyed. Today, there are only about 30 tanks remaining in the Army. Regiments need tanks. Just having people alone and getting some basic military gear is inadequate.
Instead of the 50 tanks that were destroyed, we should have been given 50 replacements. There has been no real interest in this. When a budget is brought in, they focus on controlling the budget. When I was in charge, I managed 200,000 personnel with the budget provided to the Army to manage 100,000 personnel. It doesn’t mean that we could cut expenses.
I hear economists saying the military is too large and that expenses need to be slashed. However, we cannot view the military and security with that kind of mindset. Militaries around the world need to progress in terms of technology and training.
Singapore, with a population of 3.5 million, has given military training to its entire population. All countries must be prepared.
It takes two years to acquire a tank. It takes two years to train a soldier for the special task force, and it takes two years to train a commando. War isn’t something that you can start with bombshells falling from the sky. We need to always be prepared at any time.
I believe that our country’s military budget is probably the lowest in the region. According to the claims of economists, if we focus on security development and cut down on other areas, then we will not be able to achieve even a bare minimum.”
