Flotilla of Indian fishing trawlers dots Jaffna seas

Navy runs big risk sifting good from bad:

by Ranil Wijayapala

Date:18th June 2008
Location: SLN Wasaba, Delft Island
Time: 12 noon

The Navy officials at the radar room were observing the activities taking place in the seas off the coast of Delft Island. Except for the echoes indicating the Navy boats patrolling the sea they were beginning to observe series of echoes on the radar screen. The echoes indicated in the radar screen were well within the Lankan territorial waters. The small dots started creeping into our waters.

As time passed the number of echoes started to increase in hundreds. They were in clusters and the Navy officials’ eyes pivoted on the small dots. “They are the Indian trawlers poaching in our seas,” Commander K.K.K. Ananda, Commanding Officer of SLN Wasaba based at Delft Island says. It has become a regular feature for him.

He then instructs his officials to put out small boats to monitor what was happening out there, three to four kilometres off the coast at a distance within eyesight.

Though it may appear to be a usual happening they cannot ignore it lightly. The trawlers in clusters were trawling the Lankan waters to catch bigger fish, and rich sea foods in the deep waters.

As the Navy boats close around the clusters they start to disperse, with their hands raised and once cleared settle down to their usual jobs.

The Sri Lanka Navy acts like diplomats in the sea. It is not a question of one or two Indian trawlers; they have to deal with hundreds of trawlers or even exceeding thousands crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line between Sri Lanka and India after sailing from the Southern coast of India.

There is no iota of doubt that they are breaching the international maritime law crossing the IMBL and taking away the resources belonging to another country which does not happen anywhere else in the world. During the daytime Navy boats can search at least few boats which they feel suspicious.

But it is an extremely difficult task for them to do it during night hours. Anything could happen under the cover of the darkness.

“They even dare to cross the sea corridor between Nainativu and the Delft Island and even the sea channel between Pungudutivu and Nainativu islands knowing that they were fishing well inside Lankan waters,” Commander Ananda says.

“The scene in the night here is something like thousands of Vesak lanterns floating in the sea”, Commander Ananda says. But it was not a simple matter of comparing it with Vesak lantern.

These Indian trawlers have placed the Sri Lankan Navy into a helpless situation. The Navy could easily tackle the situation if it was a matter of two or three trawlers.

They can easily shoot at the Indian trawlers as they have clearly breached the law of the land by illegally entering the Lankan waters or they can arrest the trawlers and the fishermen and put them in prisons for years. But it has become an issue relating to the goodwill of two neighbouring countries.

No country would tolerate when hundreds of their citizens come under attack from a foreign Navy. In the same manner it is extremely difficult for any Navy to observe their resources being taken away by citizens of another country in front of their own eyes.

Though these type of things are not expected to happen anywhere in the world it is practically happening in Lankan waters while the Lankan Navy is observing a high level of patience just to keep the goodwill of its great neighbour. No one would believe this until they observe what is unfolding there with their own eyes.

The great irony behind this issue is that the Lankan Navy had to observe this situation not only off the coast of Jaffna islands but also off the coast of Talaimannar while imposing bigger restrictions on the local fishing community restricting their fishing areas just to one kilometre stretch from the coast, for non-mechanized boats in the interest of national security.

Under these circumstances the local fishing community who had to satisfy with small baskets of fish had to observe the way their Indian neighbours taking boat loads of fish from their lucrative fishing grounds.

Set aside the issue of exploiting our lucrative fishing grounds, the issue of Indian trawler has reached to an alarming level at this juncture paving the way to put the national securities of the two countries at peril with the North East conflict had reached to a decisive phase with successful ground operations being conducted in the Wanni confining the LTTE into a limited area in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts.

If someone questions as to how the LTTE is facing the troops with greater strength of fire power even after Navy destroying ten ships an answer to this question can be easily given with this scene of Indian trawlers in hundreds poaching the Lankan waters.

The LTTE can easily depend on their fuel need and also explosives, arms and ammunition smuggling them to the shores mingling with these fishing trawlers. Therefore, the efforts taken by the Sri Lankan Navy to starve the LTTE of arms and ammunition.

Apart from the fact that Indian fishing trawlers are giving an opportunity to the LTTE to exploit the situation in their favour not only in Sri Lanka but also in Tamil Nadu politics.

The LTTE used all their tactics to put the blame to antagonize Indian authorities against Sri Lanka Navy after attacking the Navy taking the cover of the Indian trawlers poaching Lankan waters.

It was after practising greater level patience by the Sri Lanka Navy could clear its name and proves the fact that it was the LTTE who had unleashed violence against the Indian fishermen not by the Navy.

The concern of the Sri Lanka Navy has also focused a greater risk on the security of the Jaffna peninsula due to the presence of large number of Indian fishing trawlers in and around Jaffna islands at a time Security Forces receiving intelligence reports regarding a possible Tiger attack on Jaffna peninsula.

The greater risk involving fishing trawlers should be highlighted as possibilities are very high for the LTTE to launch massive attack involving hundreds of suicide boats. The presence of hundreds of fishing trawlers in Lankan waters hampers the possibility of identifying such suicide boats out of these trawlers in order to foil such LTTE attempts.

The gravity of this problem deepens if LTTE take these Indian fishermen as hostages and drive them into Navy boats, no one predict to what extent the consequences of such attack would affect the ongoing conflict.

No body can give assurances or guarantees on this issue due to the unpredictable nature of the LTTE and also due to their capability to risk the lives of innocent civilians.

In the present days context possibilities are very high for the LTTE to go for a do or die attack risking even thousands of innocent lives.

Recent intelligence reports have also indicated that the LTTE had given instructions to their cadres to achieve their objective of launching major assault on Jaffna peninsula risking even hundreds of Tamil civilians.

The Tiger outfit displayed its total disregard towards Tamil civilian during the recent attack on the Cheerativu island located by the side of the Panway causeway connecting the Mandathivu Island with the Jaffna town.

During this attempt they launched artillery attack on Colombuthurai fishing village disregarding the civilian population living there.

Therefore, the Security Forces are now much more concerned about the Security of the Jaffna islands as possibilities are very high for the LTTE make use of these islands as launching pad for a massive attack on the Jaffna peninsula due to the easy accessibility from K Point in Pooneryn and also from Vedithalthivu area.

The Tiger outfit which is keenly waiting for massive international involvement to stop the military thrust on them will be able to get massive Indian involvement if they can make use of these Indian fishing trawlers as a shield to launch this attack on Jaffna.

Therefore, this sensitive issue relating Indian trawlers poaching Sri Lankan waters has become the most sensitive topic between the two countries. This issue has been raised each and every forum where matters related to India and Sri Lanka is discussed.

Most recently the issue was raised at the biannual International Maritime Boundary Line meeting held between Indian and Sri Lankan Naval authorities on board the Indian ship INS Kirch on June 05. It was represented by senior Navy officials from both countries.

Commander of the Northern Naval Area Rear Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe, the Navy official directly facing the issue of Indian trawlers made an impressive representation at this meeting to enlighten the gravity of this problem to the Indian Naval and Coast Guard officials.

What is much worrying factor for the Lankan Navy officials is the lack of monitoring system by the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard on these fishing trawlers launched from the Tamil Nadu coast. Therefore, ample opportunities are available for these fishermen to transport explosives or weapons on board these fishing trawlers to be transferred to the hands of the LTTE.

“This is a very very dangerous situation concerning the national securities of both countries”, Rear Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe says.

The lack of a mechanism on the part of the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy to monitor the fishing trawlers launched from the Tamil Nadu coast was the main factor that hindered the process of controlling Indian fishing boats.

“But there was a positive response from the Indian side towards this which has become a real threat to our national security at this juncture,” Rear Admiral Samarasinghe says.

Therefore, Sri Lanka Navy is very keen that the issue relating to Indian trawlers poaching Lankan waters will be resolved amicably not allowing the LTTE to take the upper hand of the North East conflict which is now heading towards the most decisive phase in the two and half decade history.

Pix: Rukmal Gamage