Galle Dialogue, focus on Indian Ocean geopolitics

By Ranil Wijayapala

The two day international maritime conference, “Galle Dialogue - 2013”, organised by the Sri Lanka Navy with the participation of delegates from the naval communities from 35 nations across the globe concluded on Tuesday at the Light House hotel in the port city of Galle after providing an effective platform to discuss “Emerging Maritime Trends in the Indian Ocean”.

Sri Lanka Navy hosted the event after initiating the forum in 2010, providing the naval community across the globe to discuss many issues affecting the maritime security. The themes of the ‘Galle Dialogue’ varied from “Strategic Maritime Cooperation and partnerships to face the future with confidence” (2012), “Challenges and Strategic Cooperation for Indian Ocean Maritime Concerns” (2011) and “Charting the Course for Sustainable Maritime Security Cooperation” and attract more and more delegates to this forum annually.

The theme of this year's conference ‘Emerging Maritime Trends in the Indian Ocean’ became more appropriate as the Indian ocean is becoming more and more vulnerable to the shipping and naval communities both in economical and security perspectives.

Therefore, Galle Dialogue 2013 was focused on examining the emerging trends in the Indian Ocean which have potential to destabilise the regional peaceful coexistence as well as promote interdependency which stabilise the coexistence.

Delivering the keynote address of the two-day maritime conference on ‘Emerging Maritime Trends in the Indian Ocean’ Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabaya Rajapaksa provided an effective start for the delegates to discuss the issues concerning the Indian ocean.

He said from a geostrategic perspective, the Indian Ocean is becoming more and more important in the current era.

“The unipolar world that emerged after the end of the Cold War is changing to one where Asian nations such as China and India are gaining in prominence. The rise of these two nations, the rapid growth of intra-Asian and Euro-Asian trade, and the criticality of its sea lines of communication to the global economy have resulted in the Indian Ocean assuming a position of central importance in geopolitics”, he said in his keynote address.

Highlighting the issues concerning the maritime security of the Indian ocean, the Secretary said the most high profile of these was the piracy and armed robbery by Somali pirates in a region that includes the Arabian Sea, the Gulfs of Aden and Oman, and the southern Red Sea. “This piracy has effectively taken the entire shipping community in the Indian Ocean Region under siege”, he said.

He said to combat this situation, Sri Lanka is one of the countries that has taken the lead in providing security services to the ships. “The Government created a Maritime Division in a fully state-owned security company to provide weapons and ammunition to private maritime security companies engaged in on board security duties. Later, through a Public Private Partnership with a local private security company, Sri Lanka started to provide vessels with on board teams”.

Apart from the provision of private security teams on board ships, Sri Lanka is also a major disembarkation point for security teams from other countries. The Government provides logistical support for the movement of weapons and ammunition, including the provision of bonded warehouses for their storage. More recently, Sri Lanka has begun operating stringently regulated and secure floating armouries to fulfil this requirement.

“Utmost precautions are taken to ensure complete accountability for the weapons and equipment provided. Furthermore, the provision of training facilities for Sea Marshals has begun in the very recent past. This is especially important because the International Maritime Organisation requires all Sea Marshals to be properly trained and certified”, he said.

“With the provision of all of these services, Sri Lanka is increasingly gaining recognition as an important contributor to the security of the Sea Lanes of Communication in the Indian Ocean. It is likely that the demand for these services will continue until counter-piracy action by international fleets and continued use of on-board private security combine to deter piracy in the region”, he said. He also identified illicit trafficking of narcotics, weapons and people as another serious issue in the Indian Ocean region and warned that money generated from the drugs trade has also been linked to terrorism, citing LTTE as example for using the money it raised from its drug smuggling operations to fund weapons purchases for its terrorist activities in Sri Lanka. He said the smuggling of weapons through the Indian Ocean is a serious issue that can have a very detrimental impact on the national security of nations in its littoral.

The Defence Secretary said the human smuggling in the Indian Ocean is another major illicit activity that warrants increased international attention. Primarily due to economic reasons but sometimes also due to conflict, large numbers of people from developing countries seek to migrate illegally into wealthier countries such as Australia, Canada and European nations, as well as the Gulf States.

“Despite the risks involved, people smuggling has become a lucrative business for criminal groups, some of which are linked to international terrorism and drug trafficking”, he said.

“The answer to the illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons, and persons is the increase in cooperation amongst the nations in the Indian Ocean region. Effective sharing of intelligence between countries, increased coordination between law enforcement agencies and Government departments, and establishing bilateral and multilateral mechanisms to combat these issues cooperatively is critical if trafficking is to be prevented. Countries cannot effectively address these issues on their own accord”, he said. He said the overall security and stability of the entire Indian Ocean region is critical for the global economy, and Sri Lanka is proud to play its part by fulfilling its responsibilities in its maritime domain. At the same time, fostering greater cooperation and partnership amongst the naval powers active in the region is necessary to support the future prosperity of the Indian Ocean region.

“I am certain that the presentations, panel discussions and informal interactions that will take place during the Galle Dialogue will be instrumental in this regard”, he said.

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage welcoming the delegates to the conference said Sri Lanka is fortunate to have a visionary leader who has a great affinity to maritime affairs.

“Our quest to be the maritime hub of the region, taking advantage from its geographical location and the past exposure is just started paying dividends. We are at a maritime renaissance, and by joining us in Galle, all invitees have become our partners and stakeholders”, he said.

The Navy Commander noted that the scope of the Galle Dialogue has become wider, bringing everyone even closer. “The common bond, which has been there since man wondered across the ocean exploring new land and opportunities, is steering us today to make the oceans the ‘global inter-state’.

Eighty-six foreign delegates from 35 countries and 90 local counterparts participated at the forum.

Papers were presented by experts in the maritime domain including Admiral DK Joshi, the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy, Rear Admiral Guan Jianguo, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, Rear Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (operations) of the Pakistan Navy, Rear Admiral Timothy Barrett, the Commander Australian Fleet of the Royal Australian Navy.

Admiral D.K Joshi, the Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy the highest ranking Navy officer to attend the ‘Galle Dialogue’ presenting his paper on “Emerging Maritime Interests in Asia Pacific: An Indian Perspective” said piracy, which was earlier a nautical manifestation of robbery, has now transmuted into a web of criminal operations funded through ransoms.

“Also, it is quite probable that the high ransom earnings from piracy fuel other criminal activities. It is therefore no surprise that the recent audacious terror attack in Nairobi is purported to have its roots in piracy.

He pointed out that a particularly adverse fallout of piracy of serious concern is the largely unregulated carriage of armed guards, in uniform or otherwise, and the legal complexities of any armed action which they take in response to pirate attacks.

“At present, there is no international registration or regulation, nor any internationally enforceable law governing these companies or armed personnel. While there is theoretical flag state jurisdiction, in practical terms it is difficult to enforce the same”, he said.

“Lack of any provision or regulation to deal with vessels or armed personnel is hampering any legal action by the state. Every state, therefore, has an obligation to contribute to maritime security, where common interests are concerned. Concurrently, the diversity in the capacities of individual nations to address challenges also makes a strong case for cooperative and collective solutions to such common concerns”, he said.

Rear Admiral Guan Jianguo, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy, presenting his paper on “Importance of Building Trust and Confidence to enhance Regional Maritime Security”, pointed out that without mutual trust and confident, there will only be miscalculation, misunderstanding and disputes of interests, and we cannot achieve maritime cooperation,cannot achieve mutual benefits.

“Responsibly speaking, China's development is not a threat but an opportunity to the world. The “Chinese dream” we are chasing for, is not only conducive to the Chinese people, but also conducive to the world at large”, Rear Admiral Guan Jianguo said.

Rear Admiral Kaleem Shaukat, the Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (Operations) of the Pakistan Navy presented his paper on “Potential Factors that could destabilise Freedom of the Seas” , while Rear Admiral Timothy Barrett, the Commander Australian Fleet of the Royal Australian Navy delivering a paper on “How Cooperation could mitigate People Smuggling Activities in the Indian Ocean”.

The two-day dialogue came to a conclusion with a panel discussion on “Emerging Maritime Trends and their Impact on Nations” presided over by four eminent panelists, Admiral (Retd.) Sureesh Mehta (India), Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage (Sri Lanka), Professor Rohan Gunaratne (Sri Lanka) and Dr. Sam Bateman (Australia).

Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage making the concluding remarks stated that the intellectual, academic and operational discussions that took place during the Galle Dialogue 2013 emphasised the need for collaboration and cooperation for collective prosperity.

He said theme of this year aptly demonstrated that the dialogue should not confine itself to maritime security matters alone but to broader issues concerning the entire maritime domain as well.