It is meant to aid the Sri Lankan government's fight against the LTTE as part of the global war on terror, but New Delhi is worried that this listening post can also be used to spy on key strategic installations in southern India - like the Thumba rocket launch station near Thiruvananthapuram, the Kalpakkam nuclear station in Tamil Nadu and the naval dockyard in Vishakapatnam to name but a few.

The Sri Lankan army has so far largely depended on Indian radar systems, but this new US listening post linked to satellites is a cause for concern because it gives Washington new spying facilities right on India's doorstep.

The sophisticated US maritime surveiilance facility was presented to the Sri Lankan government only last week, as part of the US National Security Act that allows the US government to aid countries fighting terror.

But the facility also virtually gives Washington a vital new strategic listening post in the region.

It is believed that Union Finance minister P Chidambaram who visited Colombo earlier this week to attend a lecture, also raised this issue among others with the Sri Lankan government.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi is also believed to have raised this issue with the Centre.

It is also believed that the Sri Lankan Air Force managed to pinpoint and kill the LTTE chief political negotiator Thamilselvan in an air raid last week, only after it received specific intelligence about his whereabouts from this US listening post.

At the time the Sri Lankan defence secretary had warned the LTTE that Thamilselvan's killing was a warning that the Sri Lankan Army now had the wherewithal to target its individual leaders - which is why and New Delhi is worried that such sophisticated US facilities right on India's southern doorstep will give Washington a major spying facility over Indian strategic assets.

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