Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva

Chief of the Defense Staff and Commander of the Army, General Shavendra Silva told a group of diplomats in Colombo yesterday that the armed forces of Sri Lanka would abide by the Constitution.

“The military, as a professional team, is always ready to provide security and state protection if necessary,” Silva said while addressing a gathering of defense advisers/high-ranking attachés. police stations and embassies based in Sri Lanka, invited to the office of the Chief of the Defense Staff yesterday.

The meeting was held to assess Defense Advisors/Attaches briefed on the current situation.

Defense Adviser Australia Captain Ian Keith Cain, Defense Adviser Bangladesh Commander M Shafil Bari, Military, Naval and Air Attaché China Senior Colonel Wan Dong, Deputy Military Naval and Air Attaché China Lieutenant Colonel Chang Qianjin, Defense Adviser India Captain Vikas Sood Deputy Defense Advisor India Lieutenant-Colonel Punnet Sushill, Military Attaché Iran Colonel Homayou Ali Yari, Defense/Security Attaché Japan Captain Gaku Fukaura,

Defense Advisor Maldives Colonel Ismail Naseer, Defense Advisor Pakistan Colonel Muhammad Safdar Khan, Military, Naval and Air Attaché Russia Colonel Aleksey A Bondarev,

UK Defense Adviser Colonel PJ Clayton and US Naval Attaché Lieutenant Commander Richard Lister were present at the meeting.