Last weekend, the airport authorities suddenly took steps to deploy special security at Katunayake Bandaranaike Airport. Accordingly, the employees of the airport had realized that something was happening in the airport by deploying the security forces members not only in the airport premises but also on the highways outside the airport premises. Many people thought that a high official of the political authority or a special foreign guest was going to arrive at the airport, so special security would have been deployed. But even though security was used for three days, nothing special happened in the airport, so it didn’t take long for it to become a normal sight for many people.
However, last Tuesday night, two huge Boeing C 17 Globemaster warplanes arrived at Katunayake Airport. These two planes, which came from a neighboring state, were two planes used for special duties belonging to the US Air Force. Also, in the past, America used these types of aircraft for war operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, etc., and when an emergency flood situation arose in India, these types of aircraft were used to save lives. It is said that this aircraft can transport hundreds of military personnel and even war vehicles and military equipment at the same time.
Usually, if a special gun plane belonging to the American government comes to Sri Lanka like this, it would be given a lot of advance publicity, but this time there was no official announcement from any party about it. And it was another special event to see who was coming or not a word from any side. It was such a secret trip and sources say that only the President and less than a handful of people knew about it.
However, no information was mentioned about the arrival of these two American planes and who was there, but many people realized that something special was happening on Tuesday night when the authorities suddenly took steps to close the Katunayake highway. Generally, Katunayake highway is closed only if a special state guest comes, but there is hardly any day in recent history that such a thing has been reported. Accordingly, many parties were interested in finding out who entered the country with the closure of the highway.
The fact that was confirmed during those investigations was that the thief came in this way from a delegation of 27 led by Mr. Jedidiah P. Royal, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense of the United States for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs. It was reported that after the group arrived in Colombo, they met with the President, State Security Minister Pramita Bandara Thennakone and Security Secretary Kamal Gunaratne and held discussions. The photos of the meeting with Defense Minister Pramita were also released to the media.The other special feature is that in this way, a high-ranking American team is coming to Sri Lanka at a time when the conflict between America and China is growing. The United States has already destroyed a Chinese balloon that was in space above its country and Canada had similarly taken steps to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that was above its country. In such a background, the arrival of a group of high-ranking American security officials is also a special event.
The other special feature is that in this way, a high-ranking American team is coming to Sri Lanka at a time when the conflict between America and China is growing. The United States has already destroyed a Chinese balloon that was in space above its country and Canada had similarly taken steps to shoot down a Chinese spy balloon that was above its country. In such a background, the arrival of a group of high-ranking American security officials is also a special event.
