US has no plans of setting up military base in Sri Lanka: US Envoy Chung

The US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie J Chung has said that Washington has no intention of building a military base in Sri Lanka and hailed it as an "important country" in the strategically vital Indo-Pacific region.

Chung's comments came weeks after senior US defence officials arrived here on two special aircraft of the United States Air Force.

The visit in February sparked speculation that the US was planning to set up a military base in Sri Lanka.

Chung put the speculation to rest in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper on Monday.

"In terms of the military base, I have said this repeatedly, we have no intention of building a military base (in Sri Lanka)," she said.

Chung also said that Washington has "no intention of reviving or reassessing the SOFA Agreement."

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) was signed in 1995.

These are multilateral or bilateral agreements that establish the framework under which the US military personnel operate in a foreign country and how th