The Sri Lankan government cancelled a deal to buy Pakistani fighter jets after a “diplomatic missive” from India, reports The Indian Express.
New Delhi reportedly told Sri Lanka that its current defence requirements meant it did not need the JF-17 Thunder fighter aircraft from Pakistan, whilst also sending a negative technical assessment of the aircraft.
The message was reportedly delivered via a non-paper - a white sheet of paper without a letterhead or signature —“at the highest levels” says The Indian Express.
Colombo though has denied the deal was ever agreed upon, with Sri Lanka’s Minister of Defense Karunasena Hettiarachchi saying the “matter did not even come up for discussion” during Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to the island last week, despite reports to the contrary.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mahishini Colonne also said that “if there arises a requirement for Sri Lanka to procure aircraft of this nature, in keeping with the policy of the Government of Sri Lanka to maintain transparency, expressions of interest will be called for, from all concerned.”
India has also been pushing sales of its own fighter jets, the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, to Sri Lanka, despite the fact that it is still not in active service with the Indian Air Force yet.