Rulers in New Delhi and their political aides in sensitive states like Tamil Nadu have to be doubly careful not to provoke a situation whose consequences may be much more than visible now to the naked eye, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Brushing aside opposition from the Dravida Munetra Kazhagam and other parties in Tamil Nadu, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa but did not give him any assurance on which way India will vote on a the United Nations Human Rights Council resolution for an independent international probe into rights abuses during the war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
Engagement with neighbours is a strategic imperative, and not an option, asserts Rup Narayan Das.
Sri Lanka on Saturday said it will not release over 200 Indian fishermen lodged in Colombo before the Indo-Lanka fisheries talks, scheduled in New Delhi later this week to resolve a major irritant in bilateral ties.
Tamil fishermen being attacked by the Sri Lankan navy has become a regular affair in Tamil Nadu. Most of these fishermen belong to two districts: Nagaipattinam and Ramanathapuram which includes the island of Rameswaram.
The Lankan Navy also seized three boats.
Sri Lankan Navy, assisted by helicopter gunships, on Saturday destroyed three Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam boats, killing at least 15 of its cadres, while rebels said they sank two naval vessels in a fierce sea battle.
There was a 'fascist threat' to democracy in Sri Lanka and 'we can't let them tear up our Constitution', acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe told the crisis-hit nation on Wednesday, as he vowed to restore normalcy as well as stop the destruction of state property.
Security has been beefed up in Sri Lanka as the army increased its deployment by 1,300 to 6,300.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday said the Centre's "inadequate response" to apprehension and detention of Indian fishermen "has emboldened the Sri Lankan Navy to harass" them, and sought a "robust diplomatic response" on the emotive issue.
A Tamil Nadu fisherman on Friday sustained bullet injuries when the Navy "fired warning shots" in mid-sea and Chief Minister M K Stalin sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to prevent such incidents.
Expressing dismay over reports of Indian Coast Guard participating in naval exercises with Sri Lankan Navy, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to recall the two ships and Coast Guard personnel participating in the event in the island nation.
China remains a "formidable challenge" that has increased its presence not only along India's land borders but also in the maritime domain, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar said on Tuesday and asserted that the naval force keeps a regular watch in the Indian Ocean Region.
Sri Lankan navy on Saturday handed over 94 Tamil Nadu fishermen taken into custody by them to the Indian Coast Guard at the International Maritime Boundary Line, police said.
At least 10 fishermen from this coastal town have been taken into custody by the Sri Lankan navy for reportedly crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line and fishing in their waters.
Sri Lankan naval personnel allegedly beat the four fishermen with nylon ropes off Katchatheevu, an islet ceded to Lanka in the 1970s, fisheries department officials said.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Twenty three fishermen from Tamil Nadu, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on July 22 when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, have been released, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Friday.
They also pelted stones at the fishermen before driving them away
DRDO says it is working with the navy to fit the Rustom-1 with an Automatic Identification System that will identify Indian fishing vessels along the maritime boundary
Naval ships deployed in the Indian Ocean region are visiting ports of friendly foreign countries and spreading the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' on International Day of Yoga forming an 'Ocean Ring of Yoga'.
Sri Lanka's PM has again said that the navy has the right to shoot anyone who intrudes into its territorial waters
Sri Lanka on Friday released 136 Indian fishermen who were apprehended for allegedly poaching in its waters, a day after India conveyed its deep concern over their detention and sought their release.
Sri Lankan fishermen attacked the Indian fishermen with stones, before boarding the Indian boats.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in Nagapattinam district in Tamil Nadu on Thursday started an indefinite strike to protest the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan Navy.
Skeletal remains of 80 bodies have been dug out of a mass grave in a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels.
The 136 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who were detained in Sri Lanka for allegedly poaching in the island nation's waters, returned to Nagapattinam on Saturday.
Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry claimed that six attack boats, including two suicide craft, of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were destroyed during a heavy sea battle erupted on Wednesday morning in seas south off Delft.
The navy said that so far the 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil it was carrying had not been affected by the fire.
Intensifying its efforts, the Indian Navy has deployed nine warships to bring liquid oxygen and other medical supplies from several countries in Persian Gulf and south-east Asia as hospitals across India continued to reel under acute shortage of the life-saving gas following a massive surge in COVID-19 cases.
Over 5,000 fishermen from various hamlets in the district on Thursday commenced on an indefinite strike protesting the arrest of their fellow fishermen belonging to Akkaraipettai off Kodiakarai coast by the Sri Lankan navy.
The government has impressed upon the Sri Lankan navy to act with restraint and not to fire on Indian fishermen sailing along the International Maritime Boundary Line, Defence Minister A K Antony told the Lok Sabha on Monday.
Sri Lankan Navy, who on Saturday surprised Indian fishermen trawling near Katchatheevu by offering them soft drinks and sweets, attacked eight fishermen in the Indian territory off Dhamushkodi coast early on Monday, fisheries department sources said.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday claimed that it has killed at least 40 Tamil Tiger rebels when it confronted a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats in the seas off Vettilaikerni in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
The 49 Indian fishermen, arrested by Sri Lankan navy recently, have been released and will return home in a couple of days, Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday said in Chennai.
The magistrate court has remanded the accused Pakistani national Subair, who was arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau to 14 days of judicial custody.
Coastal police stations and police chiefs have been alerted about suspicious vessels.
Five fishermen apprehended by Sri Lankan Navy for reportedly fishing in their territorial waters were brought back by the Indian Coast Guard on Monday after the island nation's naval personnel handed them over at the International Maritime Boundary Line.
French naval commander expresses concern over China expanding its maritime influence in the region.
Taking a serious note of the killing of two Indian fishermen allegedly by the Sri Lankan Navy, India on Tuesday told Colombo that the use of force against them should not be repeated and asked it to take a decision that will not upset bilateral ties. External Affairs Minister S M Krishna also directed Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to convene a meeting of the Indo-Sri Lanka Joint Working Group on the issue around February 15 to discuss the issue.
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