• CDS post vacant since 1 January

The Government is still undecided on filling the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), which has been vacant since the retirement of former CDS, General Shavendra Silva, it is learned.

General Silva, who was the eighth CDS of Sri Lanka, retired from service on 31 December last year.  Closer to the retirement of General Silva, it was reported that the Government was considering scrapping the CDS Office.

Since a considerable time has passed since his retirement, The Daily Morning queried the Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara as to whether the Government has made any decision on the CDS office, and he replied: “No decision has been made yet.”

The CDS is the highest-ranking military officer in the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, surpassing the heads of each service branch. The CDS does not hold operational command over the branches, but they oversee inter-service cooperation and implement the joint operations doctrine. The office of the CDS, formerly the Joint Operations Headquarters, handles coordination of joint operations. The CDS is also the Chairperson of a committee made up of service commanders and is a Member of the National Security Council.

Since the establishment, the CDS has been providing strategic direction for the armed forces, developing doctrines for their joint employment, facilitating the preparation of strategic plans, coordinating intelligence matters among the branches, undertaking activities related to defence diplomacy, undertaking assessments to evaluate the forces’ capabilities against potential adversaries, and overseeing the preparation of operational plans to ensure readiness and cohesion.