{"id":138860,"date":"2024-07-18T05:11:44","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T05:11:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=138860"},"modified":"2024-07-18T05:11:44","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T05:11:44","slug":"sri-lankas-significant-role-in-the-indian-ocean-region-by-arundathie-abeysinghe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/sri-lankas-significant-role-in-the-indian-ocean-region-by-arundathie-abeysinghe\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka\u2019s significant role in the Indian Ocean Region – By Arundathie Abeysinghe"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sri Lanka\u2019s significant role in the Indian Ocean Region – <\/strong>By Arundathie Abeysinghe<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\"Indian<\/a><\/p>\n

Image Source :\u00a0britannica<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever controls the Indian Ocean will dominate Asia. This ocean is the key to the seven seas. In the 21st century, the destiny of the world will be decided on its waters\u201d.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

– American naval strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"ArundathieSince time immemorial, the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has been a significant location, the world’s third-largest body of water, a theatre of strategic competition and power politics, a tangled web of power struggles of great powers, mainly due to its economic impact in the east-west maritime trade as the Ocean provides a link between the East and the West, in the form of vital sea lines of communication (SLOCs) nurturing the world\u2019s economy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Extending from the Strait of Malacca and western coast of Australia in the East to the Mozambique Channel in the West, the Indian Ocean encompasses the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the North to the southern Indian Ocean.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a nation\u2019s economic as well as strategic interests extend beyond its own maritime boundaries and converge on the stability and security of vital chokepoints, the Indian Ocean is crucially connected to international economy and any impediment to the chokepoints will lead to global repercussions on the international market, including global oil supply and prices that will ultimately impact global production networks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Home to approximately 2.7 billion people, IOR\u2019s geographic expanse includes key subregions: South Asia, the Middle East, the eastern coast of Africa, and the islands from Sri Lanka in the East to the Comoros Archipelago in the West.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although, a small island state, compared to other South Asian countries, Sri Lanka is one of the most strategically prominent states in the IOR, a location of strategic contestation in the Indian Ocean’s evolving geopolitical dynamics for millennia. Sri Lanka is located at the southernmost section of the Asian continent, on the world\u2019s busiest shipping channel and second-largest oil transit chokepoint. Approximately, two-thirds of the world\u2019s oil and half of the world\u2019s container shipment pass via Sri Lanka\u2019s southern coast. Hence, Sri Lanka\u2019s location plays a significant role in the IOR security and geopolitics.<\/span><\/p>\n

For India, a close relationship with Sri Lanka is significant due to the latter’s proximity to the strategically vital Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the SLOCs that are under India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), for safeguarding Indian initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean (comprising 10 countries \u2013 France, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia as well as South Africa) and Beijing’s hegemonic advancement in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Sri Lanka is strategically located among the most significant SLOCs, the US Senate\u2019s Foreign Relations Committee on Sri Lanka states that \u201cSri Lanka\u2019s strategic importance to the United States, China and India is viewed by some as a key piece in a larger geopolitical dynamic,\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka and its key ports form an integral part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the foreshadow of a wider program of Chinese economic and military projects in the future that will turn into a large Chinese footprint in South Asia and the IOR.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s geostrategic location has been relevant to several major powers. From 1505-1815, Sri Lanka was colonized by Portuguese, Dutch and the British to be used as a transit hub for trading goods. These colonial powers also utilized Sri Lanka\u2019s ports for docking and refueling their ships that were navigating their vast empires. Western interests in the geostrategic location are the British Defence and External affairs Agreement of 1948, Maritime Agreement with USSR of 1962 during Prime Minister Sirima Bandaranaike administration. During presidents J.R Jayewardene (1978-1989) and Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989-1993) tenures too, Sri Lanka was chosen as the location to construct the Voice of America transmitting station.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is important for Sri Lanka to maintain its domestic politics and international relations as foreign powers have vested interests in the country due to its geostrategic location.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the Lloyds List, the island nation has several key strategic ports; Sri Lanka\u2019s Colombo Port is the 25th busiest container port in the world and the natural deep-water harbor in Trincomalee is the fifth largest natural harbor in the world. According to scholar *Nissanka, during the World War II, port city of Trincomalee has served as the main base for Eastern Fleet and British Royal Navy. Hence, Sri Lanka\u2019s location can serve commercial as well as industrial purposes while being utilized as a military base.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to *Kaplan, IOR is \u2018geared to be the century\u2019s most intense point of conflict.\u2019 Hence, Sri Lanka will face challenges in upholding its sovereignty and a neutral foreign policy.<\/span><\/p>\n

As an island nation, Sri Lanka\u2019s connectivity with the world and its outside engagements have been through the Indian Ocean and the country has utilized \u2018Indian Ocean identity\u2019 to its advantage.\u00a0 During the initial years of post-independence too, Sri Lanka\u2019s location was an integral part of its strategic, security as well as political narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n