The international maritime conference, ‘Galle Dialogue 2015,’ organised by the Sri Lanka Navy under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, got underway at the port city of Galle on Monday (23). Thirteen papers were scheduled to be presented at the two-day dialogue held under the theme ‘Secure Seas through Greater Maritime Cooperation: Challenges and Way Forward’.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe graced the inaugural session as the chief guest and delivered the keynote address. Welcome remarks were made by the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne. 

Minister of Ports and Shipping Arjuna Ranathunga, Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development Sagala Rathnayake, Governor of the Southern Province Dr. Hemakumara Nanayakkara, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene, Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshal K.A. Gunatilleke, Commander of the Army Lieutenant General Crishantha De Silva, Commander of the Air Force Air Marshal Gagan Bulathsinghala, members of the diplomatic corps and senior Government and military officials were also among the guests present at the inaugural session.

This international maritime conference ‘Galle Dialogue’ is an annual event organised by the Sri Lanka Navy since 2010 with the participation of international and local professional representing the maritime fraternity. This year the conference was held on 23 and 24 November. Over the years the conference has seen its attendance increase and has now become one of the most looked eagerly-awaited maritime conferences in the region. Thirty-seven countries participated at the conclave this year.

A sustainable global maritime order

The Prime Minister in his keynote speech commended the Sri Lanka Navy for the joint initiative taken with the Ministry of Defence in holding this annual event under a timely theme focused on strategic aspects of relevance to ensure the fundamentals of a sustainable global maritime order. He stated that Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the centre of the Indian Ocean is unique and sea borne trade remains key for the survival of our small island. 

The strategy for economic empowerment put in place by the Sri Lankan Government under the guidance of President Maithripala Sirisena envisages bilateral trade and economic treaties with India, Pakistan and the Bay of Bengal countries, the European Union and China. There are also plans towards discussions on Free Trade Agreements with the USA, he further stated. 

Sri Lanka is also placing itself to emerge as a dynamic trade hub connecting the countries in the Indian Ocean region. As such, secure seas including safeguarding the Indian Ocean SLOC’s are vital for Sri Lanka’s security, stressed the Prime Minister.

Sri Lanka willing to take the lead 

The Indian Ocean is in need of a mutually-benefiting security architecture established on a multilateral basis. There is also space for an effective multilateral governing structure. Unlike the Asia Pacific, this region is not economically integrated. The maritime security of the Indian Ocean cannot be guaranteed without filling this lacuna. 

Sri Lanka is willing to take the lead to set up a multilateral forum that involves all stakeholders with UN support to address the security issues including the control of choke points and maritime security blue print. Such a forum categorized by a collective approach is likely to set the stage for a timely and relevant mechanism to be established for an open and comprehensive dialogue on a range of issues affecting the Indian Ocean in particular and the Indo-Pacific region in general. The process if institutionalised will allow for combined partnerships across a range of areas of interest to Sri Lanka and other participating countries.

In such a context, the Prime Minister expressed his confidence that the deliberations made during the next two days among the distinguished gathering at Galle would provide considerable insights into the challenges faced by the global community.

Maritime security challenges

The Commander of the Navy making the welcome remarks extended a warm welcome to all participating in the Galle Dialogue international maritime conference, which is being held for the sixth consecutive year. He thanked the Prime Minster for his presence on the occasion as the Chief Guest and expressed his appreciation for the guidance and assistance given by the Ministry of Defence for the successful conduct of the event. 

Stating that maritime security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional, have become extremely complex and interwoven, the diversity, complex nature and advanced tactics employed by illegal actors engaged in terrorism, piracy, trafficking, and smuggling needs to be addressed with urgency through cooperation and coordination, stressed the Commander. 

He noted that many nations are working closely with regional and global entities in finding lasting solutions to some of the most pressing challenges that are maritime centric. He opined that a whole of Government approach by engaging in economic, diplomatic, and military activities with the active participation of all stake holders as the best way for us to move forward. 

The Commander also expressed his confidence that the experts from around the world representing our friendly navies, think-tanks and other leading organisations would be able to have very fruitful discussions, exchanges of ideas and even constructive arguments to benefit this year’s theme during the conference organised to share the burden in finding solutions to a range of challenges in front of us.

No naval bases will be allocated for foreign countries within Sri Lanka, PM affirms

While the Government of Sri Lanka will continue to ensure that all ports in the country are open for commercial shipping, it will not allocate naval base to foreign countries, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe affirmed.

“This Government will continue with the reaffirmed policy of ensuring that all ports in Sri Lanka are open for commercial shipping. We would like to reiterate that there would be no naval bases allocated to other countries within Sri Lanka,” the Prime Minister said.

Delivering the keynote address at the international maritime conference, Galle Dialogue 2015 in Galle Monday, the Prime Minister said Sri Lanka remained committed to preventing international terrorism, transnational crimes and people smuggling in the seas around the island as the sea was seen as a strategic component of the country’s security network.

The Prime Minister pointed out that while substantial resources had been made towards strengthening the security on land, emphasis on reinforcing high levels of maritime security had been insufficient.

In this context, the Government has acknowledged the need to combine the competencies of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force towards bolstering the national surveillance apparatus, the Premier said.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe said the Government was envisaging the establishment of a small naval force to undertake Sri Lanka’s responsibilities jointly with other nations towards ensuring the freedom of navigation from Channel to the Malacca and Indonesian straits.

Measures have been contemplated to enhance naval capacity by adding air surveillance, create a separate Peace Keeping Corps with Armed Forces contingents and Police units to embark on international peace keeping assignments and re-organise and train Police Special Task Force to counter international terrorism.

He said the financial resources needed for any approved plan would have to be phased without burdening the Budget.

The Galle Dialogue 2015 International Maritime Conference was held for the sixth consecutive year from 23 to 24 November at the Lighthouse Hotel in Galle. This year’s theme is ‘Secure Seas through Greater Maritime Cooperation – Challenges and Way Forward’.

Navy Commander seeks coordination and cooperation of all stakeholders to ensure maritime security 

As maritime trade has become the life line of the world today, close coordination and cooperation among countries are essential in ensuring the freedom of seas and free flow of trade according to accepted International Laws and Norms, Commander of Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne said.

Welcoming the attendees to the sixth international maritime conference, Galle Dialogue 2015 held in the historic port city of Galle in the South, the Navy Commander said the Indian Ocean has taken a center stage of discussions pertaining to regional as well as global maritime affairs.

Addressing the theme of the conference ‘Secure Seas Through Greater Maritime Cooperation Challenges and Way Forward,’ the Commander pointed out that heavy dependency on the maritime space for the needs and wants has in turn made the maritime space a competing ground for resources and with the increasing competition for resources comes an increased tension between countries.

On the other hand, he said the vastness of the ocean and inability to place hundred percent maritime surveillance and governance in each and every square inch of the ocean have motivated non-state actors to exploit this very nature of the ocean for illegal activities.

He said the maritime security challenges, both traditional and non-traditional have become extremely complex and interwoven, and presented the governments with a huge challenge even with the most advanced technology available to some countries.

Pointing out that it will be a daunting task to address these emerging threats and challenges all alone, the Navy Commander stressed that close cooperation and coordination among countries are of paramount importance to overcome those challenges.

He said Sri Lankan experience in defeating terrorism and countering human smuggling provides ample examples to prove the importance of cooperation.

Vice Admiral Wijegunaratne pointed out that even though Sri Lanka does not have a visible enemy out at sea now, the country faces a “quite a number of challenges in our maritime domain” and to address them effectively Sri Lanka needs the assistance of the regional partners.

For example, Search and Rescue (SAR) region of Sri Lanka is almost 27 times of the island’s land area and it is a vast area for a small country like Sri Lanka to respond, the Navy Commander said.

“Our SAR area borders with India, Maldives, Indonesia, and Australia. Looking at our resources and the vast SAR area, it is evident that we need assistance from our regional partners,” he emphasized.

He also noted that Sri Lanka has become a major transshipment hub in the region presenting more maritime security challenges.

The Commander highlighted that since most of these threats and challenges out at sea are asymmetric in nature, they need to be responded through asymmetric tactics. He added that the small boat concept which Sri Lanka effectively employed to address these threats can be used in addressing most of these asymmetric threats out at sea and offered to share the experience with others.

“Obviously we need to share the burden in finding solutions to a range of challenges in front of us, and the best way we could move forward is through a whole of government approach by engaging in economic, diplomatic, and military activities with the active participation of all stake holders,” the Sri Lankan Navy Chief said.