Sri Lanka And Maritime Security

By R Hariharan - September 9, 2013 |

Col. (retd) R.Hariharan

India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives signed a landmark agreement on July 8, 2013 on coordinated handling of maritime security threats such as piracy, gunrunning and terrorism and presumably human trafficking in the Indian Ocean. The three nations also agreed to share capacities and information related to these threats and to pursue sustainable development of maritime environment. The agreement represents the culmination of a process that started with the first Trilateral Cooperation on Maritime Security meeting that started in 2011 and continued during the last two years.

Although the agreement is a big step forward in improving the national security of all the three Indian Ocean powers, they need to take coordinated action to take advantage of it. However,three factors could stymie such progress such as aberrations of unequal power equations, influence of external powers, and  political compulsions due to internal and external issues.  The agreement is of special strategic significance to Sri Lanka due to its unique geographical location astride the Indian Ocean. It dominates the sea lanes of Indian Ocean, midway between the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Malacca, and acts as a natural vanguard for India’s peninsular and maritime security.

As Vice Admiral R. K. Dhawan, Vice Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, pointed out in the Galle Dialogue 2012, Indian Ocean has become the ‘economic highway’ of the world today, with 66% of oil shipments so vital for India, Japan and China three major countries of Asia, 33% of bulk cargo and 50% of the world’s container traffic passing through its waters. “We see the role of the Indian Navy as a major stabilizing force in this great movement of energy across the Indian Ocean, as India is cognizant of the need for security in the ‘global commons,” he underlined the vital role played by India in Indian Ocean security. Conscious of the importance of maintaining security of this vital region, it is not surprising that India, Sri Lanka and Maldives are striving to build a win-win relationship.Read More