Page 245 - MDSL Final

FUTURE NAVY
this diminishing access will complicate the maintenance of their forward
presence, placing a premium on naval forces and their ability to respond
quickly to developments around the world as well as their advantages
to operate at sea and in the air, space and cyberspace. These global
actors will need the assurance of access to ports and coastal waters
for their future operations and will engage in peacetime operations
with strategically important countries. These actors will seek global
partnership for accomplishing their plans as it cannot be met unilaterally.
The Maritime Strategy of Sri Lanka should sensibly encompass such
partnership for cohesive development while maintaining sovereignty of
the country.

The future maritime environment has the potential to produce more
challenges which SLN alone will not be able to respond effectively. This
requires shaping of developments of issues proactively so that they
do not culminate into an unmanageable level. The establishment of
cooperative maritime security arrangements in the Indian Ocean will
share the burden of maintaining security and stability.

For the developed countries, the complexity of the environment and the
inherent applicability of naval capabilities indicate that the Navy must be
larger in order to continue to provide timely options for national leaders
in areas that matter. Furthermore, platforms must be accompanied by
adequate stocks of spare parts, maintenance programmes and sufficient
numbers of trained people to stay balanced and capable.

Naval diplomacy which applies to a wide range of peacetime naval
activities whose purpose is to influence the behaviour of another nation
will play a predominant role in the future maritime context. In addition,
continuation of issues such as refugees, human rights, transnational
crime and terrorism, drugs and the political environments, globalisation,
as well as the economics, intellectual property and technology concerns
require new forms of diplomacy. This, in turn, has changed diplomatic
techniques and practices. These emerging problems are transnational
and have its impact on every country. In these circumstances, the
central task of diplomacy is not only the management of order, but also
the management of change and the maintenance by continual activity.

To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea 225