US to donate King Air aircraft to Sri Lanka to patrol coastal waters

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has announced that the government of United States will donate a Beechcraft King Air aircraft to the government of Sri Lanka this year, to patrol its coastal waters in a bid to protect the country’s sovereignty.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace (USIP) on the Indo-Pacific strategy, Mr. Lu highlighted that part of what Sri Lanka needs is for other countries, including the U.S., to help protect its sovereignty.

“One of the ways that we are doing that, from the US government, is by providing patrol boats to the Sri Lankan military. And, we are also, this year, set to deliver a King Air aircraft that will help Sri Lanka to patrol its coastal waters”, the US diplomat said in this regard.

“Sri Lanka has made this amazing sort of historic comeback, how’d they do it? They did it with a little bit of help from all of us”, he further said, speaking on the country’s economic recovery.