SL supports a stable maritime environment in Asia: Mangala

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera last week emphasised that as an island with a long history of maritime trade, Sri Lanka supports a stable maritime environment in Asia including the right of maritime passage, and unimpeded commerce in accordance with international law.

He made this observation during his speech at the CICA Conference in Beijing, China. Following are excerpts:

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing – File photo

At the outset, I would like to congratulate the People’s Republic of China on the excellent arrangements made for this summit and the warm hospitality, we also congratulate President Xi Jinping for his dynamic leadership over the last two years and thank Foreign Minister Wang Yi for organizing and chairing this Summit.

CICA is the largest and most representative regional security forum with the largest number of participants.  Under China’s chairmanship CICA has demonstrated renewed vigour and is becoming and increasingly important and valuable forum for addressing issues of security and confidence-building.

This is now the 5th CICA Summit and the challenges and opportunities Asia faces are greater than ever before.  At no point since the mid-19th Century has Asia been as important in the world as it is today.  Connectivity, interaction and mutual dependence in Asia and between Asia and the rest of the world are at unprecedented levels.

But as economic growth becomes dearer and our newly prosperous citizens have different priorities and experiences, the challenge for Asia’s governments is ensuring that mutual dependence leads to comprehensive security and regional stability.  Critical in this process is guarding the integrity of the public goods that have so successfully ensures the joint prosperity of Asia for these unprecedentedly prosperous and stable last few decades.

As an island with a long history of maritime trade, Sri Lanka supports a stable maritime environment in Asia including the right of maritime passage, and unimpeded commerce in accordance with international law.  

We recognise the need promote sustained dialogue at all levels, peaceful dispute resolution under international law, international cooperation for the sustainable use of living resources of the high seas as well as mutually-beneficial sharing of seabed resources located in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Sri Lanka also reiterates the importance of the Five Principles of Peaceful Co-existence which were first articulated at the Colombo Powers Conference in Colombo.

Along with rising interaction, connectivity and interdependence comes a host of transnational threats.  As a country that has faced two youth insurgencies and a nearly thirty year long civil war, since we achieved independence 68 years ago, we have found that peace and security require us to be both tough on terrorism and tough on the causes of terrorism.

We need to work together to share information, resources and expertise in the area of counter-terrorism. We also need to do the same in addressing the root causes of terrorism, including such grievances as inequality in wealth and inequalities in treatment based on group identity, including ethnicity, religion and gender, in addition to the spread of extremist ideology.

Although not a member state of CICA, Sri Lanka, which is home to four of the world’s great religions, intends to promote dialogue among religions in the coming years in order to promote peace, security and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.

As the hub of the Indian Ocean, we are also exploring the possibilities of increasing the depth and breadth of dialogue on Indian Ocean’s peace and security issues through relevant fora, including the Galle Dialogue held in Sri Lanka.  We look forward to cooperating with CICA member states in these initiatives in the future.