India boosts coastal defences

Defence Minister calls for secure coastline to combat terror:

INDIA: Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony, attending a ceremony marking the anniversary of the coastguard air unit at Daman in western India, said India needed to boost its coastal defences to combat terrorism.

“Our coastline is turning out to be a real difficult area for us,” Antony was quoted as saying by Indian state television Doordarshan.

Indian Leaders from time to time have highlighted the threat posed by the LTTE’s sea movements and air capabilities with officials having internal deliberations on how to protect the southern territory from LTTE infiltration.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo confirmed that India has increased their naval patrols due to LTTE activity and was on the look out for rogue vessels.

Indian national TV Doordarshan quoted Anthony saying “we are working out a schedule for the purchase and replacement of modern radars, sensors, aircraft and other gadgets” to upgrade the system.

The High Commission spokesperson however, said the upgrading of their radar system was a continuous and an on going process as the system needs constant upgrading for an effective output and had no link to the LTTE threats.

The Government was upgrading its aviation wing to support Naval Forces combating terrorism, piracy and drug trafficking, the Defence Minister was quoted as saying.

It set up eight radar stations in the coastal region in response to the LTTE revealing it has an air wing in a raid in March near Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo, Bloomberg reported.

India’s Navy is deploying more vessels along its eastern coastline, according to Vice Admiral R.P. Suthan, commander- in-chief of the Eastern Naval Command.

About 50 of the Indian navy’s 150 vessels are operating in eastern waters. Boosting the eastern region ``would ensure safety and prevent cross-border terrorism, smuggling, infiltration,’’ Suthan said.

India’s eastern coast accounts for 3,200 kilometres of the county’s total coastline of 7,200 kilometres and the ride from its southern coast to the northern tip of Sri Lanka, lies on one of LTTE’s popular arms smuggling routes.