New Delhi, Sept. 9 -- In light of growing challenges in the Indian Ocean, India's Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday, emphasised the need for India and Sri Lanka to forge greater maritime cooperation between the two nations by asserting that secure maritime lanes, right of navigation, adherence to international law, and free movement of trade via seas are essential for the safety and economic well-being of the region.
Addressing the audience at the Ministry of Defence in Sri Lanka that included Deputy Minister of Defence Aruna Jayasekara, commanders of the Sri Lankan Army, Navy, and Air Force and senior officials, Singh strongly argued for both the neighbouring states to go beyond traditional defence collaboration and evolve a new structure that could cater to the changing security environment in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
What was crucial about the Colombo message, apart from its focus on naval cooperation, was the overall strategic idea behind it, which is that India and Sri Lanka cannot divorce their economic futures from the security of the water bodies connecting them.
As more geopolitical tensions emerge in the ocean, with increasing maritime activity, smuggling, piracy, illegal fishing, and other forms of non-traditional security challenges, the security of the sea lines of communications has taken on equal importance to economic considerations.
It is precisely this connection between national security and economic development that Singh emphasised, noting that neither of these can be considered independently, since both are inherently tied to the country's geographical location and the prevailing security situation.
As neighbours sharing the same maritime space, neither India nor Sri Lanka can afford to ignore what is happening in the greater area around them.
The geographical location of Sri Lanka makes it strategically important. The fact that Sri Lanka is located very close to one of the most critical east-west maritime routes means that the island country is located at an important node in the shipping lines connecting the oil-rich Middle East and Africa with South and Southeast Asia and beyond. This means that for India, which depends very heavily on the sea route, stability in the area and the Indian Ocean region impacts India economically and strategically.
It was in this context that the Indian defence minister had urged the need to deepen the well-established defence and strategic partnership between the two countries by giving special focus on maritime cooperation.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.