What Happened to Starlink: President AKD Reveals

COLOMBO (News 1st): President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has voiced significant national security concerns regarding the initial agreement with Starlink, pointing to critical weaknesses in the government's ability to access crucial data. This limitation, the President emphasized, stands in stark contrast to the cooperation received from existing telecommunication providers in Sri Lanka.

The President underscored the importance of data access in recent successful crime prevention efforts. "A lot of criminal activities are communicated by organized crime gangs through telephone networks," he said. "We were able to stop the attack in Arugambay because of the ability to get details and data mainly through telephone networks. Even the arrest of the individuals involved in the court shooting incident was possible because of these networks."

However, the Starlink agreement presents a significant hurdle in this regard. "In the agreement we signed related to Starlink," the President explained, "the government doesn’t have the authority to access the data system of Starlink. But the companies which are still in Sri Lanka give the government the opportunity to access data with their approval. That’s a problem for national security." He further highlighted the lack of a clear point of contact within Sri Lanka to address government data access needs concerning Starlink. "There is no person responsible for that as well in Sri Lanka," he added.

While acknowledging ongoing discussions, the President expressed reservations about the proposed solution. "We discussed with Starlink, and they promised to give a dashboard, but still, we don’t know about the extent we can access data through that dashboard," he noted. Despite these uncertainties, the government has facilitated the import of necessary equipment which are needed to create the dashboard of Starlink.

The true extent of the limitations will only become apparent with operational commencement. "After they start the operations, we can see the limitations we have in the access of data in Starlink," the President cautioned. He stressed the fundamental need for data access in matters of national security, a point he believes was overlooked in the initial agreement. "The President emphasized that in the problem of national security, the government needs the access of data. He further said that this fact should have been in the initial agreement of Starlink, but they have missed it."
 

The potential national security implications have also been highlighted by the country's national security council. "During a few meetings, the national security council also emphasized the effects on national security because of agreements like these," the President revealed. He also pointed to the operational practices in other regions. "He also stated that there are Starlink offices in a few countries with a staff working in it where the officials can access data, for example, India."

A Story Written by Buddmin Amaradiwakara