VZCZCXYZ0005
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLM #0303/01 0511355
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 201355Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5491
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
INFO RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0675
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 6875
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 7444

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000303 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR SCA/INS, SCA/PPD AND PM 
USPACOM FOR FPA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO PREL MOPS MASS CE
SUBJECT:  SRI LANKA: PRESS COVERAGE FOR SIGNING OF ACQUISITION AND 
CROSS SERVICING AGREEMENT (ACSA) 
 
REF: COLOMBO 181 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: With Department concurrence, Post plans to sign an 
Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement (ACSA) with the government 
of Sri Lanka on or about February 28, 2007.  Because of the risk 
that the agreement could be misconstrued by local parties pursuing 
domestic political agendas, Embassy proposes limiting media coverage 
to an official photographer and  a press release by our Public 
Affairs section.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Sri Lanka, positioned astride major sea lanes and at the 
doorstep to India, can play a significant role in military readiness 
as political and military efforts shift focus on Asia in the new 
millennium.  Since 2002, USPACOM and Embassy Colombo have sought to 
enter into an ACSA with the Government of Sri Lanka (GSL). 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Efforts by USPACOM and Embassy's Office of Defense 
Cooperation, working with a new Sri Lankan administration dedicated 
to prosecuting a domestic anti-terror campaign, have now produced a 
ten-year agreement. The signing will expand DoD's capacity and 
capability to conduct global operations by adding another logistical 
option in South Asia, which ultimately reduces cost and provides 
flexibility to U.S. forces moving through the region. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) There is, however, some risk of internal political players 
misconstruing both the reach and the purpose of the agreement.  Sri 
Lankan nationalists have often mischaracterized ACSA as a basing 
agreement to allow U.S. forces a bastion within easy reach of Muslim 
republics in Central Asia.  Further, both pro-government and 
pro-insurgent factions could brand it as an arms agreement in 
support of the current military campaign against the Liberation 
Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).  Human rights activists may 
mis-construe the agreement as tacit USG endorsement of the human 
rights abuses that have been committed by Sri Lankan military forces 
in the past year. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Since this agreement primarily benefits U.S. forces, we 
think there are strong arguments to proceed with signing the 
agreement.  Because of the risk that some of the political players 
mentioned in para 4 might mis-characterize or leak news of the 
signing, we recommend the Department of State approve a short 
signing ceremony between the Ambassador and the Sri Lankan Defense 
Secretary with an official photographer, but no other press. The 
 
SIPDIS 
Embassy would plan to release the attached statement following the 
ceremony. 
 
¶6.  (U) Below is the text of the proposed press release: 
 
U.S. & Sri Lanka Sign Mutual Services Pact 
 
Colombo - February 28, 2007:  Sri Lankan Defense Secretary Gothabaya 
Rajapaksa and U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake signed a ten-year 
logistical agreement strengthening ties between the two countries 
and providing a framework for increased interoperability.  The 
Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) will allow the 
United States and Sri Lanka to transfer and exchange logistics 
supplies, support, and re-fueling services, either in kind or at a 
reduced cost, during peacekeeping missions, humanitarian operations 
and joint exercises.  The United States has ACSA agreements with 89 
other countries around the world. 
 
The categories of allowable goods and services include food, 
petroleum, and transportation.  The provision of weapons systems or 
ammunition is expressly prohibited under this agreement.  Each 
nation's forces can support the other during contingencies, such as 
disaster relief or peacekeeping operations, which reduces the 
logistics requirement for each nation. 
 
Logistics support allowed under this agreement cannot be transferred 
beyond the forces of the receiving party without consent of the 
providing party.  The agreement will be in effect for ten years, and 
all transactions must be mutually agreed upon before any transfer is 
made. 
 
"ACSA will facilitate the exchange of non-lethal equipment, increase 
cooperation in the field and reduce the paperwork involved," 
Ambassador Blake said. "For example, if the Sri Lankan Army had sent 
troops to assist in the Pakistani earthquake and needed winter coats 
for the soldiers, under ACSA the United States could provide those 
winter coats in exchange for fuel and foodstuffs the next time a 
U.S. vessel made a port call in Colombo.  On-the-ground cooperation 
 
between our two armed forces was evident in the aftermath of the 
tsunami disaster.  This will enhance both nations' ability to engage 
 
SIPDIS 
in disaster relief and peacekeeping missions more effectively," he 
added.  "We have ACSA agreements with numerous countries around the 
world," he explained. "This brings Sri Lanka into the same category. 
 It increases our ability to work smoothly together." 
BLAKE