India Plans Military Exercises in South to Ward Off Terrorists
By Jay Shankar
Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- India will hold military exercises in its southern peninsula next year, a move defense analysts said is aimed at controlling terrorists such as Tamil Tiger fighters operating from neighboring Sri Lanka.
The military plans to extend exercises to the far south, Mahesh Upasani, a spokesman for the Indian air force, said in New Delhi. Aircraft, naval vessels and troops ended maneuvers last week near the southern Indian cities of Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
``The navy is spreading its wings by going to the southern part of the country,'' Bharat Karnad, a defense analyst at the Centre for Policy Research, said in a telephone interview from New Delhi. ``One of the aims of the military exercise could well be dealing with the menace posed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.''
India and Sri Lanka have increased naval patrols in the Palk Strait between the countries to combat the LTTE, which is fighting for a separate state in areas of Sri Lanka it controls. The Indian navy said the LTTE changed its arms smuggling operations in response, India's state-run broadcaster Doordarshan reported on Nov. 26.
An estimated 60,000 Sri Lankans are in camps in India's southeastern Tamil Nadu state that lies about a two-hour boat ride across the waters, the United Nations says.
Air Patrols
French-made Mirage-2000s, Russian-built Su-30s, Mi-8 helicopters and unmanned aircraft were involved in last week's exercise, the ministry said in the statement. Fighter jets simulated ``friendly and hostile forces'' over long aerial ranges and air-to-air refueling units were used.
The navy and coast guard provided rescue ships and the army deployed troops and manned a communications network. Satellite images provided analysis of the simulated attacks on targets, the ministry said.
The exercise was aimed at protecting sea lanes and air space, Upasani said in a telephone interview from New Delhi. The headquarters of Southern Air Command is based in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala state.
Next year's training will be ``the first time that such a peninsula-based exercise of a tri-service nature is undertaken by the army, air force and navy in the southern states,'' Dipankar Banerjee, director of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, said in an interview from New Delhi.
The LTTE has an estimated 12,000 fighters in its land forces and a 4,000-member naval unit known as the Sea Tigers. It unveiled an air wing when light aircraft bombed areas near the capital, Colombo, in March and April.
``One worrying factor is the aerial capability of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,'' Banerjee said. ``It poses certain challenges to the Indian coast.''
Sea Tigers
The conflict between the Sri Lankan navy and rebels is also on the rise, Banerjee said.
``Concerns have widened in recent years,'' he said. ``This exercise is a response to the changing situation.''
The LTTE is moving operations to Kerala from Tamil Nadu, Doordarshan cited Vice Admiral Sunil Damle, who heads India's Southern Naval Command, as saying last month.
The Indian navy in February began round-the-clock patrolling of its waters off Tamil Nadu and coastguard vessels are monitoring the International Maritime Border.
Thirteen nations, including Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are participating in a military gathering in January in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands located in the Bay of Bengal, Indian naval spokesman Neeraj Sinha said from New Delhi.
``This is more of a consultative engagement,'' Sinha said. ``There will be no big exercises.''
To contact the reporter on this story: (Jay Shankar in Bangalore at Jshankar1@bloomberg.net
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