Defence Asia

A Sri Lankan fishing vessel suspected of trafficking narcotics being boarded by Indian Coast Guard on 05 March, 2021. Pic - ICG.  By Asiri Fernando The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) intercepted three Sri Lankan fishing vessels near Minicoy Islands, off the Lakshadweep coast of India last week (18 March), and found them carrying five AK-47 assault rifles, 1000 rounds of ammunition and 300 Kgs of Heroin. The ICG tweeted about the intercept, stating that "@IndiaCoastGuard· In a swift sea-air coordinated operation, #ICG intercepted 03 suspected boats off #Minicoy Island carrying 05 AK-47 rifles with 1000 live rounds and 300 Kg of Heroin. Boats being escorted to the nearest port for further joint investigation" The three vessels are being towed to the nearest port for investigation. The intercept come days after another three local fishing vessels with 19 fishermen were arrested by Indian authorities earlier this month (05 March) on suspicion of smuggling narcotics. Foreign news report

  Defence Advisors of the Maldivian and Indian High Commissions, meet with Secretary of Defence, General (Retd) Kamal Gunaratne, Foreign Secretary Admiral (Retd) Jayanath Colombage, Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Nishantha Ulugetenne and Senior Navy officers at the launch of the new secretariat. (Pic - SLN) Trilateral Secretariat on Maritime Security Cooperation established at Sri Lanka Navy HQ  By Asiri Fernando  A secretariat for trilateral national security advisors (NSA) was launched at the Navy Headquarters yesterday (01 March) to act as a platform to improve Maritime Security Cooperation between the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka.  The need to establish a secretariat for the task was agreed upon during the fourth NSA level meeting between the three countries, hosted by Sri Lanka in November last year. According to the Navy, Director Naval Operations Rear Admiral Prasanna Mahawithana has been appointed as the coordinating officer of the new secretariat.  "Through NSA -lev