India to counter Chinese and Pakistani influence in military ties with Sri Lanka
23 Jun 2008
New Delhi: Somewhat alarmed by Colombo's increasing dependence on China, and even Pakistan for weapon systems and platform, India is now likely to take countermeasures to bolster military cooperation as a supplier of military hardware with Sri Lanka.
Sources indicate that the arms supplied to the island nation will be mostly of a defensive nature, in line with the policy of supplying non-lethal equipment to the southern neighbour. India is of the view that there is no military solution to the ethnic strife in Sri Lanka that has been on for decades, and is pushing for a dialogue process instead between the warring parties. During their weekend visit to Colombo, an Indian delegation comprising national security advisor MK Narayanan, foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon, and defence secretary Vijay Singh advised the Mahinda Rajapakse government about the need for renewed political efforts.
In parallel, India is now unable to ignore the inroads being made into its immediate neighbourhood by regional heavyweight China, which is emerging as an important supplier of arms to Sri Lanka, providing an array of relatively cheap arms and munitions to supply its ongoing battle with LTTE.
India's restraint has proved to be the market opportunity China and Pakistan have been looking for, with both moving in to satiate Sri Lanka's demand for more offensive weapons.
According to official sources, the Myanmar story is replaying itself in Sri Lanka, with the Chinese presence already dominant all over the southern island nation in the form of arms deals, oil explorations and construction projects such as the Hambantota port. Colombo is now learnt to have inked a deal valued at $37.6 million with China's Poly Technologies that will see it procure a wide variety of arms, ammunition, mortars and bombs. Additionally, it will also get some Chinese Jian-7 fighters, JY-11 3D air surveillance radars, armoured personnel carriers, the T-56 assault rifle which is a copy of the famous AK-47, machine guns, anti-aircraft guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and missiles.
This is similar to what had taken place in Myanmar, with India having turned a cold shoulder to the military junta during the 1990s.
Sources say that the Indian delegation expressed unease over Sri Lanka's continued sourcing of arms and munitions from China and Pakistan. Additionally, discussions on ''mutual concerns'' with Sri Lankan president, Mahinda Rajapakse and defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, saw the Indian delegation promising assistance in the areas of military supplies, intelligence and training.
India's political sensitivities in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, which holds much sway in India's stand with respect to Sri Lanka's conflict with the LTTE, are largely responsible for restricting arms supplies to ''defensive'' weapon systems, such as the 40mm L-70 anti-aircraft guns, and the 'Indra' low-flying detection radars. These two platforms are for defence against air strikes by the LTTE. As part of its defensive approach India also conducts "coordinated" naval patrolling with Sri Lanka along the international maritime boundary line (IMBL) that the southern country share with India's Tamil Nadu state, in order to curb LTTE's sea-based activity.
