RADAR COMPETITION 

Time and again, the countries of Southasia gain much from the game of one-upmanship that New Delhi plays with Islamabad and Beijing. The winner this time is Colombo. Despite the fact that two Indian service contractors were injured during the Tigers 9 September attack of the Sri Lankan Air Force base in Vavuniya, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems likely to keep assisting Sri Lanka with its air defence.
A major reason for the PM’s unwavering support is due to the fact that China may well step in should New Delhi pull out. India currently provides 2D radars to Sri Lanka which capture the distance and direction of travel of approaching crafts. Beijing, on the other hand, has 3D radars which also record the altitude at which the craft is flying. India has also recently been nervous about Colombo’s growing ties, and import of arms, from Pakistan.
In fact, New Delhi only offered to provide Sri Lanka with the 2D radars after former President Chandrika Kumaratunga ordered Chinese radars to counter the then strengthening air fleet of the LTTE. 
At home, India continues to skirt the issue of military involvement in Sri Lanka, hoping not to incur the wrath of the LTTE as well as allay suspicions from its 60 million ethnically Tamil population living in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, a large segment of whom support the LTTE's struggle. Tamil Nadu Congress President K V Thangabalu also rejected claims of the governments' assistance to its island neighbour, "The charges against the UPA government in this regard are totally false. In fact, our defence minister has asked the Sri Lankan government to ensure the safety and security of Tamils."