The Lanka Sama Samaaja Party (LSSP), the oldest leftist party in the country, yesterday questioned Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera's visit to Trincomalee port. 

Addressing a press conference in Colombo yesterday, its leader Professor Tissa Vitarana said the government had already made plans to turn Trincomalee into a military base controlled by the US. 

The press conference was attended by other members of the Joint Opposition, including former Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage. 

"There have been discussions to hand over maintenance of the Trincomalee port to India, Japan and Singapore. This is a grave threat to Sri Lanka's sovereignty," Vitarana said. 

"Is that why the Japanese Defence Minister visited Trincoalee and inspected the port?" the LSSP leader asked. 

Vitarana said it was up to the government to make a statement and reveal the truth behind the visit. 

However, commenting on the matter, a senior Cabinet Minister said there was nothing "strange" about the Japanese Defence Minister visiting the Trincomalee Port. 

"Is this the first time a visiting foreign minister inspected an outstation site?" he questioned, rubbishing the Joint Opposition's claims. 

He said, however, there were discussions with the Japanese authorities to find ways in which Tokyo could support development of the Harbour located in the Eastern province.