Need for a strong Navy:

External powers, the Indian Ocean and our security

by K. Godage

The Indian Ocean, the third largest ocean in the world, has now surpassed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as the world's busiest and most critical trade corridor. Over 50 percent of the world's container traffic and 70 percent of global energy trade transits the Indian Ocean passing Sri Lanka. These numbers will grow over the next decade, fuelled by the Asian economic expansion and the growing need for raw materials and energy resources from Africa and the Middle East.

Concern

Seventy percent of global energy trade transits the Indian Ocean passing Sri Lanka

Does this not give our country a new importance? This new importance has brought with it new problems not only for us but also for the United State in particular which has, all through the 20th century, dominated Asia and the Middle East. The emergence of the Chinese Navy with its submarines and aircraft carriers and Beijing's special relations with Pakistan, Myanmar and her involvement in massive development works including ports and airports in our country has been of concern not only to the US but also to India.

The US has entered into a special relationship with India and has brought out Japan from her self -Imposed isolation. Distant Australia has also begun to show its flag in the Indian Ocean.

The visit of John Kerry - the first by a US Secretary of State after many decades - is significant. It recognizes the importance of our location in the Indian Ocean in the context of regional security. The US will, today, have to play more of a secondary role than previously when she sought to impose her interests and values on other countries. She now has to concede to India, China and Japan the trusteeship of the Indian Ocean.

The US would need to scrupulously avoid getting directly or indirectly involved in the internal affairs of states in Asia, considering the damage she has already done by toppling the Saddam regime in Iraq (which was till then a stable country), Gaddafi's Libya and, not to forget her meddling in Iran. In the process, the US has helped create Islamist fanatics who have destabilized the entire Gulf region and now threaten other nearby regions especially in Africa.

Because of these developments, our country has acquired a new importance because of its location in the Indian Ocean. Sadly, there is no awareness of this blessing. We have taken the Ocean for granted.

The world today depends heavily on sea-borne trade to participate in the global market place. The Indian Ocean region comprises 38 littoral states, 24 ocean territories and 17 landlocked countries. Two adjoining seas are connected with the Indian Ocean - the Arabian Sea and the Red sea - making a total area of 169,000 square miles from the Straits of Bab el- Mandeb and Hormuz to the Straits of Malacca and the Sunda Straits.

The Indian Ocean possesses vast natural resources, mineral, fish, marine products, oil and natural gas. It also marked by many choke points, such as the numerous sea straits that are its entry points, such as Hormuz, Malacca and, the Lombok and Sunda Straits in the Indonesian archipelago. Any disruption in traffic flow through these points can have disastrous consequences to the economy of the region and to other regions as well.

The disruption of energy flows, in particular, is a considerable security concern for littoral states as majority of their energy lifelines are sea-based. Since energy is critical in influencing the geopolitical strategies of a nation, any turbulence in its supply has serious security consequences.

Sri Lanka's geographical location has, historically, always been significant. Our maritime domain should have been an important factor in Sri Lanka's foreign policy as it is an island nation and lies near a regional power and near the main sea route that is the major East-West shipping link.

Furthermore, two big powers - China and India - have established their presence in Sri Lanka through various aid and investment interventions such as ports, aviation and power plant projects. The maintenance of our maritime domain is especially important since it would enable Sri Lanka to serve as a hub port to most of the countries in the region.

Globalization

Globalization has highlighted the criticality of Indian Ocean sea lanes for trade and energy security. Oil and gas-laden ships travel from the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz around Sri Lanka, and, through the Malacca Straits or Indonesia's archipelagic sea lanes into the waters of the South China Sea. Reciprocal traffic, carrying finished goods comes from China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan and travels the other way. During the voyage they run the gauntlet of piracy, maritime terrorism and inter-state conflict.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, first the British and then the US dominated the Indian Ocean. Today China, because of her need for oil and other resources from the Middle East and Africa, depends heavily on the Indian Ocean. She has helped construct harbours in Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and elsewhere, where she has special facilities in these countries. Chinese vessels ply to and from China using the Indian Ocean.

US interest in the Indian Ocean is because of Taiwan, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Philippines where she has a base. Both Japan and the Philippines have disputes with China over islands in the South China Sea. China has a huge trading relationship with US and a growing trade relationship with India.

About 30% of world trade is handled in the ports of the Indian Ocean; half of the world's container traffic passes through Indian Ocean. Continental shelves cover about 4.2% of the total area of the Indian Ocean and are reported to be very rich in minerals Including tin, gold, uranium, cobalt, nickel, aluminum and cadmium, although these resources have been largely not exploited so far. This is very unfortunate because we have, under the Law of the Sea, a two hundred and fifty-mile exclusive Economic Zone which remains unexploited. It is said that 54 types of raw materials used by U.S. industry are supplied via the Indian Ocean.

Several of the world's top container ports, including Kelang and Singapore, are located in the Indian Ocean as well as some of the world's fastest growing and busiest ports. The Indian Ocean possesses some of the world's largest fishing grounds, providing approximately 15% of the total world's fish catch

(approximately 9 million tons per annum). Some 55% of known world oil reserves are said to be in the Indian Ocean while 40% of the world's natural gas reserves are in the Indian Ocean littoral states.

The Indian Ocean could make a remarkable contribution to Sri Lanka's economy, once we begin exploiting this opportunity. The coastal zone of Sri Lanka consists of around 25% of the total land area and, hosts around one third of the country's population, accommodates over two thirds of all industrial facilities, and over 80% of tourism infrastructure. Marine fisheries play a pivotal role in Sri Lanka's fish supply. According to the National Aquaculture Development Authority, the marine fish catch comprises of 58% from coastal area and 42% from off shore.

Additionally, Sri Lanka has been blessed to discover oil reserves in the Indian Ocean, which could open up a host of new economic opportunities for the country. Existing data shows that oil and/or gas potential exists in the Mannar Basin to the west, Cauvery Basin to the north, Bengal fan sedimentary deposits to the east, and newly identified sedimentary basins to the south of the island.

With these 'blessings' have come new problems. The Tamil Tigers exposed the vulnerability of our coastline which extends across 7500 sq km. The LTTE used the ocean to bring in thousands of weapons and that was how they continued the war for three decades (with the help of Diaspora money of course).

Unholy development

The next unholy development has been the growth of human smuggling, which has become very lucrative and is a huge problem particularly for Australia. Perhaps a more lucrative trade which has developed through the Indian Ocean is that in narcotics particularly in heroin from Pakistan.

It has become the responsibility of the Navy to combat and counter all these threats to our country and our people. To establish our maritime domain, we need to develop our Navy in the same manner as we developed the Army. I do hope our new President Sirisena and the government that emerges will give this matter the highest priority to secure and develop our country.

[Ambassador Kalyananda Godage is a most distinguished former senior diplomat.]