Page 154 - MDSL Final

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF SRI LANKA
Sri Lanka is geographically located at the middle of strategically important
maritime routes which connect the East and West making her globally
important for world trade. Hence, any disruption to maritime trade that
takes place within this region will affect not only the economy of Sri
Lanka but will have an impact on the world trade. An effective maritime
security arrangement also facilitates the freedom of navigation and
commerce, even for other legitimate users of the sea. Therefore, there
is a need for a coordinated international approach to maintain a safe
maritime environment.

As an island nation with this strategic location, SLN has a huge task and
responsibility in protecting the territorial, the contiguous and the EEZ
with the added responsibility of a large search and rescue region and in
the near future an even a large area after ratification of the continental
margins.

Sri Lanka ratified the LOSC on 19th July 1994, having signed it on
10th December 1982. The convention sanctioned all coastal states
jurisdiction over an EEZ which extends to a distance of 200nm from
the shore base line. Accordingly, Sri Lanka has sovereign rights of over
500,000sq km of the sea with a high water to land ratio of 7.5: 1. New
claim for outer limit of continental shelf, extending to possibly 350nm
covering over 1.4 million sq km, more than 24 times of our total land
area. In this area, Sri Lanka may exercise sovereign rights over minerals,
oil and certain biological resources of the seabed and its sub-soil and
also have jurisdiction on matters related to the protection of sea lanes of
communication, sea ports, off-shore installations, submarine cables and
the marine environment.

Our country paid a heavy price by not governing the maritime domain
effectively in the 80’s. The sea tigers were the most violent non-state
actors that operated from sea in the years that followed and became
a menace not only to Sri Lanka but to the entire region as they even
attacked or hijacked merchant vessels that were making their innocent
passage in our territorial waters apart from using the seas to transfer
large quantities of war materiel flouting international maritime laws.
This even compelled the government to make a warning in the notices

136 To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea