In the Bay of Bengal:

Policing a must to contain terrorism

by Jayampathy JAYASINGHE

Lack of proper policing of the Bay of Bengal contributed towards building up a terrorist network in Sri Lanka.

The Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga who was the chief guest on the second day of the seminar of the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) hosted by the Sri Lankan Navy said that Sri Lanka's terrorism was nurtured by lack of policing of the Bay of Bengal. "Those who are conversant of what was happening in the Bay of Bengal will bear testimony to this fact," he said.

Delegates from 18 countries participated at a seminar held from May 21-22. The theme of the conference was Practical Cooperative Mechanism for Technical Support within the Indian Ocean.

The Secretary to the President said that Sri Lanka suffered because the Bay of Bengal was not policed properly. "It is very appropriate that you gentlemen share thoughts, exchange information and build an active network of information and intelligence that could be exchanged in helping each other to ensure, territorial integrity and sovereignty of your respective nations."

He further said sea lanes of the region have emerged as the most important lines of communication. Significant amount of international trade passes through sea lanes of the Far East. Therefore a better understanding of oceans around and gathering of information would provide better security for nations. He said the Sri Lankan armed forces had achieved a remarkable success over LTTE. Sri Lanka also underwent a difficult period during the past three decades where the fabric of the society was subject to great torture. A number of lives and the nations wealth was lost. But we over came the difficult period, he said.

He said President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the BIMSTEC conference last year emphasized the need for policing the Bay of Bengal.

Several participants from countries such as Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Pakistan, Qatar, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Tanzania took part in a two day session. The Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) was formed on the deliberations made by the Commanders of the navies around the Indian Ocean who gathered in India in 2008.

The seminar commenced following the lighting of the traditional oil lamp by the Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka and others.

The Chief Guest on the inaugural day was Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka. The other distinguished invitees who attended the inaugural session was the Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, the Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Palitha Kohona, the Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Rear Admiral T.S.G. Samarasinghe, the Chief of Staff, Director General Engineering Rear Admiral D.N. Dharmaweera and others.

The Sunday Observer spoke to Capt. Gordon A. Andrew, the Director, Sea Power Centre -Australia at the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) 2009 last week in Colombo.

He said from the Australia point of view as expressed recently the Indian Ocean was extremely important to them.

The conference provided an opportunity for them to build up cooperation among Indian Ocean regions.

"The more we talk the more it provides maritime security and good order in the region, important to Australia."

Asked about piracy cases reported recently and strategies to prevent them, Capt. Andrew said a number of strategies were needed to prevent them. Good order at sea and having an incredible presence can prevent such incidents. The symptoms were much bigger where piracy at Somalia was concerned. Good order at sea and working on shore to make sure to fix such problems. The important thing was to talk to each other and communicate with each other to share information and knowledge.

Commodore Pascal Carre, the Defence Attache of the French Embassy in Sri Lanka said several important technical issues were discussed at the seminar.

Referring to piracy he said the European Union and France have launched an offensive against piracy in Somalia.

"The operation is named ATALANTE an efficient operation under the EU command. There is also an international operation mounted against piracy in the Somalian waters," he said.