A sea-plane carrying LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham out of northern Sri Lanka risked attack by the Air Force last week, when it flew low over a flotilla of LTTE boats, which were being surrounded by naval vessels off the eastern coast, a report said on Sunday. While the exact reason why the sea-plane flew over the eastern Trincomalee coast was not known, the 'Sunday Times' weekly newspaper said it could have been a show of strength by the rebels at a time when their high-ranking functionaries had been stopped at sea by the Navy.

The Maldivian Air Taxi service sea-plane was used by Balasingham to travel from Male to the LTTE-controlled northern Vanni region last month, and to leave the country last Wednesday. However, on the return journey, it took a circuitous route over Trincomalee, the report said.

As the details of Balasingham's departure were a top secret, both the Navy and the Air Force, which were involved in the mid-sea standoff with three or four LTTE boats, were taken by surprise on sighting the sea-plane.
Naval craft were in radio contact with the nearest Air Force base at China Bay near Trincomalee, and were about to intercept or attack the unidentified aircraft, when Air Force headquarters in Colombo intervened to advise the forces to stand down, the 'Sunday Times' said.
The incident had caused serious concern at the highest level of the government, as any attack on an aircraft carrying Balasingham could have derailed peace moves. It could also have had international repercussions, as a Norwegian Foreign Ministry official was also travelling with him. Bureau Report