Two Japanese naval ships arrive marking their 50th port call to Sri Lanka

Two Japanese naval ships, "JS Makinami (DD-112)" and "JS Suzunami (DD-114)", which are en route for counter piracy operations off Somalia and the Gulf of Aden, arrived at the Port of Colombo on a goodwill visit on 10th November 2015. They were welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy in accordance with naval customs and traditions on their arrival, which incidentally marks the 50th port call to Sri Lanka by the ships belonging to the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) since 2009.

During Prime Minister, Hon. Ranil Wickramasinghe's recent visit to Japan, the both governments recognized the importance of cooperation and exchange between the two defence establishments on maritime security, by means of port calls by the vessels of the Japan Maritime Self- Defence Force (JMSDF). Accordingly eight ships in 2011, twelve ships in 2012, eleven ships in 2013, eleven ships in 2014 and eight ships to date in 2015 , visited Sri Lanka symbolizing the long standing cordial relations between two friendly nations.

The head of the mission, the Commander Escort Division III, Captain "Takashi Yoshioka" and the ships’ Commanding Officers, Commander "Shyuji Ono", Commander "Masanori Amemiya" and Commanding Officer of Japan Coast Guard Commander "Masaharu Fujimoto" paid a courtesy call on the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne at the Naval Headquarters in Colombo on the same day. The Defence Attaché of the Embassy of Japan in Sri Lanka, Captain Mototsugu Shigekawa was also present in the occasion. They exchanged Mementoes as a gesture of goodwill.

Prior to their departure on 11th November, the visiting Japanese ships are scheduled to conduct a Passage exercise with an SLN ship with a view to share professional expertise between the two friendly navies.