Lanka says India agreed for coordinated naval patrol

Colombo, June 2 (UNI) Sri Lanka today claimed that the Indian Government has agreed to conduct coordinated naval patrol along the maritime borders between the two countries in the Palk Straits.

''Indian Defence Minister A K Antony today assured Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama that the Indian Government was ready to conduct coordinated patrols of the maritime boundary between India and Sri Lanka in the Palk Straits,'' Foreign Ministry here said in a statement.

''Modalities for this deployment will be worked out between the two sides,'' the statement said.

According to the statement, Mr Antony has made this assurance when he met Mr Bogollagama on the sidelines of the sixth Annual IISS Asian Security Summit 'The Shangri-La Dialogue', which is currently taking place in Singapore.

Mr Bogollagama is leading the Sri Lankan delegation to this meeting attended by government representatives from 25 countries and legislators, experts, academics and business people from the Asia-Pacific region and key outside powers.

The two sides have also discussed developments that had arisen since the recent air attacks by the LTTE, in addition to the security related issues.

''The Indian Defence Minister assured that his government will continue to strengthen Sri Lanka's air defence capability and noted that an Indian team was currently in Sri Lanka for this purpose,'' the statement said.

''Mr Bogollagama also referred to recent reports appearing in the media on comments made regarding arms purchases by Sri Lanka. Mr Antony said India appreciated Sri Lanka being transparent in the purchasing of its defence equipment,'' the statement said. Sri Lanka last month challenged a recent statement by Mr Antony in Parliament that the Sri Lankan Navy (SLA) has killed over 77 Indian Fishermen between 1991 and mid-April 2007, and claimed that there ''is absolutely no evidence to link the Sri Lankan Navy with attacks on Indian fishermen''.

Claiming to set the record straight, the Lankan Foreign Ministry in a statement said its attention was drawn to the recent written responses to Indian Parliamentary questions, which linked the Sri Lankan navy in attacks and killing of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.

The Foreign Ministry said the Sri Lankan navy has been applying ''an absolutely humanitarian stance'' although the increase of intrusion by the Indian fishermen into the Sri Lankan territorial waters has helped the LTTE to take cover to carry out attacks on the security forces.

UNI