Defence diplomacy has become a key instrument of India's Neighbourhood First policy. Examine with reference to India–Sri Lanka military cooperation.

Defence diplomacy means using peacetime military ties to build trust between countries. With Sri Lanka it has moved from one-off exercises to a formal umbrella MoU on Defence Cooperation signed in April 2025 [2]. It has deepened Neighbourhood First, but it cannot fix every bilateral problem.

How defence diplomacy advances Neighbourhood First

• Trust through joint training: MITRA SHAKTI is the annual army counter-terrorism exercise, held in each country by turns. Its 12th edition runs at Maduru Oya, 13–26 November 2026 [1].
• Partnership of equals: the 2025 edition at Belagavi had 170 Indian and 135 Sri Lankan personnel [3]. This reciprocity respects a smaller neighbour's sensitivities.
• Institutionalisation: the MoU makes existing cooperation "more structured". It covers joint exercises, capacity building, HADR and port calls [2][4].
• Strategic assurance: Sri Lanka has pledged not to allow its territory to be used against India's security [5]. This matters because outside powers are courting Colombo in the IOR.
• Wider capability: the 2025 edition rehearsed UN Chapter VII operations with drones and Counter-UAS [3]. The 2026 contingent includes IAF personnel, a step towards jointness [1].

Limits of the military route

• Maritime irritant untouched: India secured the release of 591 Indian fishermen from Sri Lanka between 2024 and March 2025 [6]. Palk Bay disputes involve navies and state politics, and army goodwill does not reach them.
• Promise, not treaty: the joint statement only agreed to "explore" a binding defence framework agreement [5].
• Narrow scope: the MoU lists HADR [4], but MITRA SHAKTI is still only a counter-terrorism exercise [1].
• Rights scrutiny: questions over Sri Lanka's civil-war record mean the exercises cannot be presented as proof of army reform.

Way forward

• Turn the MoU into the binding Agreement on Defence Cooperation it points to [5].
• Add an HADR module to MITRA SHAKTI, using skills already practised such as heliborne movement and convoy protection [3].
• Score rules of engagement and IHL compliance in the validation exercise, so the UN-mandate theme means something.
• Pair military ties with fisheries dialogue through the bilateral channels already in place [6].

India–Sri Lanka military cooperation shows defence diplomacy working as a real tool of Neighbourhood First: reciprocal, increasingly institutional and strategically reassuring. Its value will last if India gives it a legal base, broadens it to include disaster relief, and backs it with political work on the fishing dispute. That would make India the trusted first responder in its neighbourhood, in line with SAGAR/MAHASAGAR.