Sri Lanka insists U.S. aircraft entered its airspace
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Xinhua, August 9, 2011
The Sri Lankan air force insisted on Tuesday that U.S. aircraft had entered the country's airspace last week despite U.S. officials saying otherwise.
The U.S. embassy in Colombo said in a statement that the aircraft which were on board the USS Ronald Regan aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean did not approach Sri Lanka's territorial sea or air space.
The embassy said the aircraft carrier with accompanying ships recently transited the Indian Ocean returning to the Pacific and conducted routine flight operations during the transit through waters beyond the territorial sea of any state.
The embassy said it informed the Sri Lankan Minister of External Affairs last week that the transit had occurred.
However, Sri Lankan air force spokesperson Andrew Wijesooriya told Xinhua on Tuesday that the U.S. aircraft did enter Sri Lankan air space and they were picked up on Sri Lanka's radars.
"I cannot say if it was a violation or not because that is a matter for the civil aviation authority. But the air force did pick the aircraft on our radars and the relevant officials were informed. The aircraft were in our airspace," Wijesooriya said.
The Sri Lankan government launched a special investigation last week after the country's radars picked up 10 U.S. fighter jets intruding into its airspace.
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