Surge in Pak arms sale to Sri Lanka worries India

Given that the Sri Lankan Armed Forces are involved in a full-fledged battle with the LTTE, Pakistan still seems a viable option. The reason: Pakistan last month agreed to supply 150,000 mortar ammunition and the same number of grenades along with a range of other smaller equipment from its war reserves.

In fact, Sri Lankan Army Chief Gen Sarath Fonseka was in Rawalpindi to meet his Pakistani counterpart Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani last week. He even visited the Pakistan Ordnance Factories at Wah and is learnt to have had a detailed discussion on future supplies, which are largely for offensive purposes.

Currently, among the important ammunition, Sri Lanka is in the process of buying 300 more MK 82 and MK 83 aerial bombs for its Air Force from the Air Weapons Complex (AWC), Pakistan, at a cost of over $2 million. It was one of these bombs that killed Tamil Selvam, the head of LTTE’s political wing.

Constrained by domestic political pressure from Tamil parties, India is currently focusing on finalising a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Sri Lanka for the SAARC Summit in July. But the increase in involvement of Pakistan and China in Lankan defence agencies is becoming a cause of worry.

The growing defence relationship between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is reflected in the fact that the latter conducted 180 training courses in 2007 for Sri Lankan military personnel. Of these, 83 were for the Sri Lankan Air Force while 75 and 22 courses were for the Army and Navy respectively.

According to Indian assessment, the sudden spurt in Sri Lankan Air Force operations can be attributed to this material and training support from Pakistan. For instance, teams from AWC have visited Sri Lanka frequently last year to impart even basic training like handling of ammunition...