LTTE may attack Sri Lankan camps close to Indian border
CHENNAI: India has mounted the tightest ever surveillance along the southern coast after Intelligence reports of a probable attack by the air and naval wings of the LTTE on a few Sri Lankan camps close to the Indian border.
“There are reasons to believe that the LTTE is planning a coordinated attack on some Sri Lankan camps. Some of the targets in Sri Lanka are too close for our comfort,” an Intelligence source told DNA.
Delft islet, one of the prime surveillance bases of the Sri Lankan Navy in the north, was attacked by the Sea Tigers on May 24 this year. The base is less than a couple of nautical miles from the Indo-Lankan maritime border.
The range of Indian surveillance along the Gulf of Mannar is probably the widest ever: Eight radar, five vessels including two missile corvettes, two aircrafts (a dornier and a hovercraft) and smaller boats of the Coast Guard. “Our electronic surveillance will not only be trained on possible incursions of the LTTE into our territory, but also on their movements along the border. It is imperative to know the pattern and strategies of the LTTE,” the source said.
“There is no immediate threat to India, but the air and naval capabilities of
the LTTE are worrisome. We cannot afford to be caught unawares and we need considerable number of radar and vessels for round-the-clock surveillance,” international security expert, B Raman said.
Sri Lanka has been campaigning for joint patrolling of the international maritime border with the Indian Navy, but India is not keen on more than a “coordinated patrolling.”
