'If India crosses Sri Lankan maritime...': Ex-Sri Lankan envoy cautions New Delhi over Katchatheevu

After Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai said the Centre was trying everything possible to take back the Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka, a former Sri Lankan envoy said if the Indian government crosses the Sri Lankan maritime international boundary line, it would be seen as a "violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty", The Indian Express reported on Thursday. 

Katchatheevu, an island just 25 off the Tamil Nadu coast, was with India till 1974, when the then Indira Gandhi government ceded the island to Colombo. Last month, a report surfaced saying the DMK government in the state was fully aware of the decision and was taken on board. The report was based on Annamalai's RTI, which sought to counter the DMK, which keeps blaming the Centre for the loss of Katchatheevu. 

"If Pakistan proposes such sea encroachment near Goa, will India tolerate it? Or if Bangladesh does something like this in the Bay of Bengal, what will be India's response?" Austin Fernando, former Sri Lankan envoy to India, said while speaking to The Indian Express. 

Fernando, who served as Sri Lankan High Commissioner to India between 2018 and 2020, said the BJP does not have much of a hold in Tamil Nadu, "so it has sparked off a vote-puller". He said this may be only rhetoric for the election, "but once they have said something like this, it is difficult for the government to get out of it after the elections, because BJP will win. It is the problem." 

Referring to EAM S Jaishankar's statement where he said India will open talks for the fishing rights in the Katchatheevu area, the former Sri Lankan envoy said whether it can be done effectively or not is another issue. "Who would control any issues? Do not tell us it is the Indian Coast Guard," he said.

Fernando, who has also served as Sri Lanka's defence secretary, said: "If the Indian government crosses the Sri Lankan maritime international boundary line, it will be seen as a violation of Sri Lankan sovereignty. Do not forget that that stance was taken by President Premadasa when the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Force) was here."

Earlier this week, Jaishankar said India should get fishing rights around Katchatheevu. "We need to sit with Sri Lankan authorities and sort it out. Even today, our fishermen are being arrested and vessels are being seized. Katchatheevu island was given away in 1974 and fishing rights were given away in 1976." he said.