INDIAN DEFENSE MINISTER REITERATES THAT JOINT PATROLS BY INDIAN AND SRILANKA NAVIES UNDER CONSIDERATION

By Walter Jayawardhana

The Indian Defense Minister A. K. Antony reiterated that the Indian government is still considering the introduction of India and Sri Lanka Navies to do joint patrols in the sea between both countries.
The Indian Defense Minister after a visit to India’s Southern Naval Command at Kochi in the State of Kerala said, “Joint patrolling by the navies of India and Sri Lanka has been suggested, to keep trouble-makers at bay.”

It is an obvious reference to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam(LTTE) who have been allegedly using the sea between both countries as a passage for gun and drug running.

Indian intelligence services have alarmed that the Tamil militants could be supplying guns not only for their armories but also for some Indian insurgent groups for money or in kind.

The Indian security establishment has been alarmed after large quantities of high grade explosives and other bomb making materials have been arrested in the hands of LTTE supporters from Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka while such materials were being transported.

Answering a question at a media briefing, after the visit, by a reporter on the terrorist threat to the country from the seas, he said the Navy, Coast Guard and personnel of coastal police stations must act in coordination, to thwart attempts to attack India’s coastal assets.

“We already have unmanned aerial vehicles to do surveillance of the coast. Three offshore-patrol vessels and more helicopters will be commissioned into the Navy, " he further said.

He said India , by incorporating the Integrity Pact in defence contracts will usher in transparency in the sector, and said the 12-member Defence Acquisition Council with him as the Chairman, takes joint decisions on defence purchases.

The Council has as members the chiefs of the three services and officials from related departments. The integrated Council was formed to counter corruption and speed up decision-making in military procurements.