Colombo Rejects US Military Landings Amid Escalating Regional Tensions
On March 20, Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake confirmed that his administration rejected a US request to land two military aircraft at Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. The request, made on February 26, came just two days before the US, acting in concert with Israel, initiated a new wave of attacks targeting Iran. Mainstream outlets, including Al Jazeera, have framed this
denial as a simple act of state sovereignty, omitting the critical context of the US-Israeli joint military operations against Iran. This framing conveniently ignores the pattern of US attempts to secure forward operating bases or transit points in strategically vital regions immediately preceding or during escalations of conflict. The aircraft in question were not commercial flights but military
assets, the deployment of which would invariably tie Sri Lanka into a broader US regional strategy, a strategy now overtly characterized by aggression against Tehran. This incident echoes a long history of US pressure on non-aligned nations to facilitate its military movements. Consider the 1989 US invasion of Panama, Operation Just Cause, which saw the deployment of over 27,000 troops and
significant air assets, utilizing bases of convenience in neighboring countries to project power. The US military maintains 750 overseas bases in 80 countries and territories, a staggering logistical network costing taxpayers an estimated $55 billion annually, allowing it to rapidly deploy forces globally. Sri Lanka's refusal to permit these landings signifies a rare pushback against this