New Delhi, April 19 (H.S.): After India expressed its concerns, Sri Lanka has canceled the naval exercise with Pakistan. This exercise was scheduled to take place on Sri Lanka's Trincomalee coast. India raised concerns with Sri Lanka regarding the close cooperation between the Pakistani Navy and China's PLA Navy, as well as the visits of Pakistani warships to Trincomalee. Trincomalee is located on Sri Lanka's northeastern coast and is considered an important hub in the Indian Ocean region for India's maritime security interests.

In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Sri Lanka on April 4, where he inaugurated development projects completed with India's financial assistance. Before PM Modi's visit, the navies of Sri Lanka and Pakistan had planned to conduct exercises off the Trincomalee coast in line with their regular activities. Upon receiving this information, India expressed its concerns regarding the proposed exercise to Sri Lanka. India stated that there are friendly relations between the navies of Pakistan and Sri Lanka, and warships from both countries frequently visit each other's ports apart from conducting exercises.

India also expressed concern that the docking of the Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship 'Yuan Wang' at the Hambantota port in August 2022 had caused a diplomatic controversy for Sri Lanka. Subsequently, the docking of another Chinese warship at Colombo port in August 2023 also raised some concerns in New Delhi. Despite this, in recent years, India has focused on assisting Sri Lanka in developing the energy infrastructure of Trincomalee. However, there has been no official statement from Sri Lanka or Pakistan regarding this plan, but after India raised its concerns, the plan did not move forward.

Military experts explained the strategic importance of Trincomalee for India, stating that it has the potential to dominate most of the Bay of Bengal and the northeast Indian Ocean, which is why India was right to express concerns about the proposed exercise. India is particularly considering revitalizing the oil tank farms in Trincomalee, which is one of the best natural harbors in the world. This month, during Modi's visit to Colombo, India, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) finalized an ambitious agreement to develop Trincomalee as an 'energy hub' with the broader objective of promoting its economic development.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar