| | От | Exeter |  |
| К | Олег Радько |  |
| Дата | 17.01.2005 01:54:31 |  |
| Рубрики | Современность; |  |
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JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY - JANUARY 12, 2005
Indian Ocean militaries survey tsunami damage
JDW correspondents and Asia-Pacific Editor Robert Karniol in Thailand provide a preliminary picture of military losses caused by the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean on 26 December.
The tsunamis that devastated areas around the Indian Ocean following a powerful undersea earthquake on 26 December hurt defence forces around the region as well as the communities where they are based.
The tidal waves caused extensive casualties and property damage and prompted the largest international relief operation the world has seen stretching from Thailand to West Africa. The four countries worst affected - India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand - together account for more than 95 per cent of the 150,000 people killed based on early January estimates.
Details of the damage to military forces and facilities in the four countries most seriously hit remain unclear, in part because of the priority being given to relief work and also the element of secrecy prevalent as several countries remain reticent about providing detailed information due to security concerns.
In India, Rahul Bedi reports that the tsunami swept away the Indian Air Force (IAF) Carnic base on Nicobar Island in the Andaman Sea and also punched a temporary hole in the nation's security set-up.
Twenty-seven IAF personnel of some 1,700 posted on the base died and 75 others remain missing nearly two weeks after the disaster struck. Carnic's 2,744 m runway has been cut to 1,524 m by the water but six maritime-version Mi-8 helicopters there escaped damage.
The IAF Carnic base is India's strategic outpost on the country's eastern boundary and had been expanded following the formation three years ago of the Andaman and Nicobar tri-service command.
The newly appointed chief of air staff, Air Chief Marshal S P Tyagi, ruled out relocating Carnic but said that some of the officers' quarters would be shifted. "We have asked for land in higher areas from the civil administration," he said.
Naval jetties on the Andaman Islands were partially damaged but no naval assets were destroyed, including radars. The jetty at the Campbell Bay Coast Guard Base on the Nicobar Islands was also partially damaged, as was the airstrip, but both were made functional in a short period. There was no damage at INS Karadip, the naval base on Kamorta Island.
On India's mainland, Madras (Chennai) port was partially damaged but is now functional. No naval assets there or other military assets elsewhere along the country's east coast were affected.
In Indonesia, Aceh province in northern Sumatra was worst hit of any area in the region. Jessica Sallabank reports that the armed forces (TNI) appear to be downplaying the military impact.
About 400 TNI personnel may have been killed according to early January estimates, said a military spokesman, although this figure may include family members. He also said that no major air or naval platforms were damaged, acknowledging damage only to around a dozen military cars and "a number of small boats and dinghies".
The spokesman added that "a number of military bases and barracks have been slightly damaged" but most bases continue to "function normally".
This assessment raises a number of suspicions in view of the large military presence in Aceh, where operations against the separatist Free Aceh Movement have been under way since 1976. Jakarta has an estimated 40,000 security personnel in the province, including TNI and police, and the latter report extensive losses.
Local media reports say police sources indicate that at least three armoured vehicles are "missing" together with two helicopters and six patrol craft. Eight police dormitories were also destroyed.
The TNI have three major bases in Aceh together with an undetermined number of smaller facilities: Sabang Naval Base, which includes a naval air station; Kalijati Air Base, also in Sabang; and the Banda Aceh army base, where the KODAM (Military Regional Command) Iskandar Muda is headquartered. These are in areas hard-hit by the tsunamis, with some reports stating that some 80 per cent of the town of Banda Aceh was destroyed.
From Sri Lanka, Iqbal Athas is unable to confirm military casualties but says sources indicate that the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) lost an estimated 2,100 fighters. Both government and LTTE forces suffered extensive damage to infrastructure.
Initial assessments on the government side indicate that the army camps at Kallady and Kalkudah in eastern Sri Lanka have been destroyed, together with an undetermined number of Forward Defended Localities that divided security force positions from rebel bases. The main naval base in the south, SLNS Dakshina in Galle, was badly affected, together with naval facilities in Point Pedro, Manalkadu, Kirinda and some sub-units north of Trincomalee.
The Sri Lankan armed forces did not lose any air assets but one vessel, the Haiqing-class fast attack craft Parakramabahu, was driven ashore in Galle and several inshore patrol craft were sunk. Also, the armoury at Nilaveli naval sub-unit was destroyed together with an undetermined number of coastal radars.
The LTTE suffered extensive damage at Chalai, the main base of its naval arm, together with smaller Sea Tiger units along the northeast coast. This includes a number of boats sunk.
In Thailand, the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) bore the brunt of damage from tidal waves that devastated the country's Andaman coast. Army and air force facilities were unaffected as they are inland.
The RTN has one major naval base on the Andaman Sea - the Third Naval Area Command headquarters at Phang Nga - where 32 people were killed, including four navy personnel; two sailors are missing.
The missing sailors were among eight aboard a T-213-class coastal patrol craft, hull number 215, which sank in the heavy seas. The remaining six personnel were rescued. In addition, the Chao Phraya-class guided missile frigate Kraburi was grounded and will take about two months to salvage while three patrol craft were damaged.
While the small dock was unaffected, a number of structures and vehicles were destroyed at the naval base. The navy's deputy chief of staff, Vice Admiral Nopporn Achawakhom, told local media that damage to Phang Nga naval base could be valued at up to Bt2 billion ($50 million).
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