Sri Lanka's military "is always in its highest readiness to defend the country in all aggressions" said the head of the army Mahesh Senanayake in a speech to troops as they concluded a military exercise last week.
Senanayake went on to recite a military quote and told troops, "we must not rely on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him".
"As we all know, literally we have two tasks at our hand at any given time whether it is peace or war," he continued. "Fight during war and train during peace. Therefore, we have to 'Train like we fight and fight like we train'".
His comments come amidst the deployment of tens of thousands of Sri Lankan soldiers in the North-East, where intense militarisation continues despite pledges by the government that military presence in the region would decrease.
