Page 83 - MDSL Final
P. 83

NEW DYNAMICS OF THE INDIAN OCEAN REGION
        It is universally accepted that the armed forces are best suited to respond
        to major disasters. Thus need for IOR Navies to respond promptly in
        order to provide Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR)
        operations demand regional maritime cooperation.


















                 Natural Disasters will be more frequent in IOR Littorals in Future

        Future Challenges

        IOR will continue to have many traditional and non-traditional threats in
        the 21st century. It will be the true nexus of world powers and conflicts
        in  the  coming  years.  It  is  here  that  the  fight  for  democracy,  energy,
        independence and religious freedom will be lost or won. Sri Lanka will
        have to face with some unavoidable challenges such as how to avoid
        being the focus of rivalry or competition among major powers. Sri Lanka
        is a small nation that is nevertheless very strategically placed, at a critical
        location  within  the  Indian  Ocean  and  this  has  focused  the  attention
        of  many  powers.  In  this  context,  SLN  should  determine  to  maintain
        progressive,  positive  relations  with  all  the  concern  stakeholders  in
        maritime operations in line with our national interests.

        The  strategic  demarcation  between  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans  are
        converging into Indo- Pacific and a new security framework has evolved
        and gaining prominence that could help mitigate the impact of strategic
        competition in the region. Nevertheless, it is increasingly becoming a
        necessity to have a comprehensive security architecture for IOR which
        all states should become an integral part of the binding fabric of such
        maritime security order. Non-traditional threats are emerging in different

                                                To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea  65
   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88