June 17, 2002	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 5, 1423

COLOMBO, June 16: Sri Lankan special forces will soon get training from India after the latest in a series of deals that will also see closer military cooperation with the United States and China, press reports said here on Sunday.

Special forces of the Sri Lankan army will be sent to commando training establishments run by the Indian military under a deal clinched last week during Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to New Delhi, the reports said.

China, for its part, has pledged to provide military assistance to Sri Lanka in line with an agreement finalized during last week’s visit to Beijing by Colombo’s defence minister, Tilak Marapone.

China is a key supplier of small arms and gun boats to the Sri Lankan military.—AFP