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India-Sri Lanka naval exercise ends

V.S. Sambandan

Purely professional one, involving fleet manoeuvres

COLOMBO: The Indian and Sri Lankan Navies on Wednesday concluded a three-day joint exercise off the island-nation's western shores. The exercise was described as a continuation of bilateral exchanges.

Sri Lankan Naval spokesperson Jayantha Perera told The Hindu that this was the first exercise involving the two navies, though there had been regular interaction.

Two Indian naval ships, INS Sukanya and INS Kirpan, and three Sri Lankan vessels participated in SLINEX (Sri Lanka-India Naval Exercise). The exercise was "a purely professional one," involving fleet manoeuvres, boarding of pirate vessels and mid-sea transfer between ships, Commodore Perera said.

The Indian vessels arrived in Sri Lanka last week on a "goodwill visit." An Indian official described it as "part of the ongoing co-operation with the Sri Lankan Navy and defence." Last year, the Indian Coast Guard and the Sri Lankan Navy conducted a joint exercise off the island-nation's western coast.

The visit by the Indian ships marks the continuation of bilateral defence co-operation and confidence-building measures between the two countries. The sensitive issue has been linked to the situation of armed conflict and prospects of peace in Sri Lanka.

During the decades of military confrontation between the Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Sri Lanka was on India's negative list for military supplies.

After the 2002 ceasefire agreement between Colombo and the LTTE, India removed Sri Lanka from the list, restricting it to sale of "non-offensive" hardware. The traditional areas of bilateral defence co-operation include intelligence sharing, training of personnel and supply of life-saving equipment.

India-Sri Lankan defence co-operation is an extremely emotional issue in the island-nation, with the Sinhalese and Tamil media reading it either as "support to the Government forces" or as a "threat to the LTTE."

The service commanders of the Sri Lankan security forces, the Flag Officer Commanding, Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy, Sureesh Mehta, and other officials witnessed the exercise on Wednesday, Commodore Perera said.

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