Page 144 - MDSL Final

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF SRI LANKA

CHAPTER 9

CONCEPTS AND APPLICATION OF

MARITIME POWER

“Since men live upon the land and not upon the sea,
great issues between nations at war have always been
decided, except in the rarest cases either by what your
Army can do against your enemy’s territory and national
life, or else by fear of what the fleet makes it possible for
your Army to do.”

Sir Julian Corbett
Concepts of Maritime Power

The common definition of the maritime power is the ability of a nation
to exploit the oceans to its advantage. However, maritime power not
only of the ability to exploit the oceans on commercial purposes, but
it strengthens to protect this ability from interference. It also implies
the ability of a nation to influence others in peace and impose its will in
war. 83

Maritime power automatically enhances a country’s regional and global
status and posture. Similarly, maritime power affects the external
dimensions of a country’s security. One of the reasons is that, unlike
land or airspace, seas beyond national jurisdiction, own no one and it is
open to all. Therefore, the EEZ is only for economic exploitation and any
foreign nation could use for peaceful purposes. Hence, Navy does not
defend sea space like Army defend the land borders and territory and
the Air Force defend airspace. Navy defends its maritime interests.

Sri Lanka will be heavily dependent on the maritime domain in the
future. Therefore, surrounding oceans must be protected, monitored
and regulated to establish a competitive and unique maritime hub in
the region. It is in this context, SLN has a huge role to play in order to

126 To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea