The many nuances of national security

Defence Seminar 2015 brings regional concerns to the fore:

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

Debates and opinions expressed on US influence, parts played by Pakistan and the rising power of China, the problem of non-state actors in sowing the seeds of terrorism and the necessity of high morality in international politics took centre-stage at the two-day Defence Seminar held in Colombo, organised by the Sri Lanka Army on September 1 and 2. It also opened a dialogue among decision-makers and experts on the theme ‘National Security in the context of Emerging Global Threats’.

Army Commander, Lt. Genaral Chrishanthe de Silva greets former President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai while Defence Secretary B.M.U.D. Basnayake looks on.

Delivering the much-awaited keynote address by former President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai set the tone for the entire event. The key issue highlighted was the need to emphasise high morality in international politics and clearing non-state actors used for political motives. Referring to the Afghan experience, Karzai stressed that 14 years after eliminating terrorism from their land, it had raised its head again in the face of ISIS.

Karzai appealed for a new re-definition and moral conduct to be introduced to security interests, where sensitive issues such as ethnicity, religion, basic necessities such as water and many other sensitive issues will not be used as tools to deprive people and gain terrorist motives. He said it is the ‘biggest crime’ that can happen.

“As we all know in situations where there is an internal pandemic and also external plagues on a country, two essentials are used – ethnicity and religion. They are used as easy sources to create conflict and explained that religion was a powerful tool in Afghanistan that was used to weaken the Soviet Union,” he said.

Speaking of the crisis his country faced, Karzai said, the crisis initiated and labelled by political strategists of the West, was brought in to weaken the Soviet Union and was one of the main reasons for bringing religious radicalism into Afghanistan through Pakistan. Attributing his remarks to the conflict that spun out of control in his own country, he opined that terrorism would be impossible to initiate and survive without different ‘backups.’

He stressed that Afghanistan faced dire consequences when it became a conflict ground for two competing political motives - the US and Pakistan’s political influence which affected his country. “Afghanistan suffered disastrous consequences,” he pointed out. “While the country was happy to find their true identity, we saw that those who invaded and those who helped us were trying to impose their thinking and interests on us,” said Karzai. The result was an immense loss of lives, destruction of the social system, infrastructure and all that a nation holds dear,” he said.

Common threat

“Unless the International Community begins to see terrorism as a common threat for the survival of the world, there cannot be an end to extremism, coupled with terrorism,” emphasised Karzai.

“There are only two options to be free from the terrorist menace, either you have to return to the morality of international politics or you have to conduct your internal politics with a high degree of moral responsibility.

There will not be an end to terrorism and extremism as long as we do not look at terrorism as a common threat to the world order,”he said. He pointed out this morality would save the poorer countries from grips of terrorism.

Dr. Ajai Sahni bringing in a sense of freshness to the theme said efforts against terrorism demands a sustained, unwavering and consistent response on multiple fronts. Dr. Sahni, a long standing defence analyst and founding member and Executive Director of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi was speaking on the ‘state response to terrorism.’

“Even where states have had significant experience with terrorism, the first impact of any dramatic escalation, the opening up of a new theatre or new form, or even adaptive transformations in the character, tactics, strategies or technologies deployed by terrorism, are often met with confusion and incoherence,” he pointed out.

Dr. Sahni talking of the ‘life cycles’ of Al Qaeda and the new rise of ISIS explained that each new manifestation of terrorism across the globe, has been met with bewilderment, strategic errors of response, under- or over-reaction, and slow evolution of state capacities and capabilities..

Participants at the Defence Seminar

Pakistan High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Major General (Retd) Syed Shakeel’s made a clear cut response to the keynote speaker.

He stressed that Pakistan was keen on peaceful and cooperative relations with the global community and thus, acquire its rightful place among nations. He said misjudgment and prejudice about his country could make action emotional and sensitive. He said Pakistan focused on regional stability and prosperity and will continue to do so in the future.

Major challenge

Dr Arvind Gupta, Indian Deputy National Security Advisor speaking on ‘Nature of Threats Affecting the National Security of a Nation’ said terrorism remains a major challenge as the younger generation was getting radicalised with the growing cyber space and social media campagins.

“Therefore, without ignoring the good old methods of terrorism, cross-border unified preparedness and alertness need to be strengthened,” he said.

He added that maritime security such as piracy, safety and communication were new facets which needed to be looked at closely, “if we are to keep our economies as well as the Indian ocean stable,” he said. Dr Gupta spoke on five major areas; i.e. (1) Role of Economic Powers, (2) Reforms in Security, (3) Terrorism, (4) Fragile Economy, (5) Competition for Resources, added that considering emerging trends, one need to reform the effectiveness of emerging economic powers. As development goes on, water resources have emerged as another challenge. The crash of stock markets and financial crises were common elsewhere, while economic growth is taking place in Asia.

Professor Christopher Coker from the London School of Economics spoke on ‘power politics and security narratives’. He said these two aspects have made dramatic change and the scenario has set new priorities. Talking of European experience with the influence of Russian politics, Prof. Coker was of the view that similar to Russia, Asia was also facing an emerging threat to the stability of the region.

Rear Admiral D.M.B.Weththewe of the Sri Lanka Navy gave rise to a soft debate over the presence of China in the Indian ocean. In response a Chinese delegate stressed that this is not a concept from China. He said in China such a concept does not exist and it is totally a ‘concept born in the Western world,”.

China

The Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Yi Xianliang in his lengthy and elaborate speech on ‘Threats in the Coming Decades and Challenges to National Security’ pointed out to many perceptions with regard to the Chinese Government’s foreign policy and its relations with countries bordering China and elsewhere “China does not have any intention of becoming an aggressor but a peace-maker since the Chinese policy would continue to be the same in the future as well since this had been the practice,” he said.

The fifth in a series of seminars, it ended on a successful note creating realistic dialogue on conflicting issues of politics in certain countries that affected security of the region and the world as a whole.

Pix: Gayan Pushpika