Sri Lanka to slash military by a third to cut costs

BY A STAFF REPORTER: Sri Lanka will slash its army by a third to 135,000 personnel by next year and to 100,000 by 2030, the state minister of defence said on Friday, as the country tries to cut costs in the face of its worst economic crisis in more than seven decades. “Military spending is basically state-borne expenditure which indirectly stimulates and opens avenues for economic growth by way of assuring national and human security,” Premitha Bandara Thennakoon said in a statement. The aim of the move is to create a “technically and tactically sound and well-balanced” defence force by 2030, Thennakoon said.