NEW DELHI: Moving swiftly after receiving a distress call from Sri Lanka, which is suffering from floods and landslides, the government on Saturday despatched three naval ships to the island nation, India's most strategically located neighbour in the Indian Ocean , with relief supplies.The Indian High Commission in Colombo said in a press release that after a request was received from Lanka, PM Narendra Modi himself directed provision of necessary assistance.Modi, who has sought to rev up ties with countries in the neighbourhood since taking over as PM, also expressed condolences at the loss of lives and property and said that India stood with her “Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need“.The assistance, first from any country, has again helped to underscore the significance of geography as countries in south Asia increasingly come in China's sphere of economic influence. Whether it was Operation Maitri, which was meant to help rehabilitate Nepal after the devastating earthuake in 2015, or its efforts to stave off a water crisis in the Maldives in 2014, the government has been quick to offer help to neighbours in distress.Floods caused by inces sant monsoons rains have left over 100 dead in the neighbouring country. Sri Lanka has now appealed to the United Nations for assistance.The High Commission said that pursuant to Modi's directions, INS Kirch was diverted from her deployment and tasked to reach Colombo to provide immediate assistance. The ship, with around 125 personnel on board, arri ved at Colombo Port in the morning of May 27 and offloaded relief supplies, inflatable Gemini boats with diving teams, and a mobile medical team with supplies.High commissioner Taranjit Sandhu handed over the supplies to Ravi Karunanayake, foreign minister of Sri Lanka. The Indian rescue personnel are now being deployed to the disaster affected zone in coordination with Sri Lanka navy and other Sri Lankan authorities. India was the first country to despatch assistance to Sri Lanka as the latter sought more relief supplies from the United Nations.Lanka's ministry of foreign affairs in coordination with the ministry of disaster management, appealed to the UN, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighbouring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially in the areas of search and rescue operations.“We are grateful to India for sending relief at such a short notice so quickly ,“ Karunanayake said. He added India's move to send relief materials demonstrated the Indo-Lanka relations which are at an excellent level.A second ship, INS Shardul, has left Kochi and is scheduled to arrive at Colombo Port by mid-day on May 28.The ship is carrying additional relief material requested by Sri Lankan authorities, apart from more inflatable boats. A third ship, INS Jalashwa, has set sail from Visakhapatnam to join the relief efforts, and is expected to reach Colombo within two days.“INS Jalsahwa is an even larger LPD (landing platform dock) class of ship, which can carry large amounts of relief material and is ideally suited for conduct of humanitarian assistance disaster relief missions," said a government release.“The high commission in Colombo is in close touch with Sri Lankan authorities to coordinate any additional assistance that may be required," it said.