Sri Lanka Parliament Applause, President's Salute Refuses Access to 2 US Fighter Jets Landing

JAKARTA - Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake revealed that his country had refused permission for two US fighter jets to land at their civilian airport earlier this month.

The US has requested permission for the two planes to land at the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in southern Sri Lanka from March 4-8.

"They want to bring two fighter jets armed with eight anti-ship missiles from a base in Djibouti," Dissanayake told Sri Lanka's Parliament on Friday, quoted by Reuters.

"We reject this request to maintain the neutrality of Sri Lanka," he added to cheers from lawmakers.

The Sri Lankan navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors off the Sri Lankan territorial waters on March 4. The IRIS Dena, which was not carrying ammunition, had just returned from a military day celebration in India but was torpedoed by a US submarine that killed at least 84 Iranian soldiers.

The second Iranian warship, IRIS Booshehr, which approached the scene was also rescued by the Sri Lankan navy after experiencing technical problems just off the territorial waters of the island nation.

The US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia, Sergio Gor, is visiting Sri Lanka and met with Dissanayake on Thursday, March 19.