In an effort to enhance maritime security in the strategically important Indian Ocean region, India along with Maldives and Sri lanka has evolved mechanism to check piracy, drug and human trafficking and terrorism through sea lanes.
Making this point here after the National Security Advisor-level meeting of three countries to discuss maritime security here, NSA Shiv Shankar Menon said the three nations recently held a trilateral naval exercise “Dosti” besides sharing information on piracy, counter-terrorism measures and related issues.
“We have a platform in place which will enhance concrete response to situation whether it is piracy, counter terrorism, drug trafficking or human trafficking... We will pool our capability. This is useful and wanted to join forward,” Menon told reporters.
The NSA said while assessing the cooperation and joint activities in field of counter-terrorism, anti-piracy and trafficking, the three sides were satisfied with the work in progress. The Maldivian delegation was led by its Defence Minister Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim while the Sri lankan side was represented by its Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
Menon said the three countries will share data of the newly-developed Automatic Identification System, which has been built by India for enhancing coastal security. This system identifies ships passing through the Indian Ocean region.
He also said the three countries had invited Mauritius and Seychelles as observer countries for this meeting and they have shown interest in participate in it and “we may have to change the name of the meeting.”
India took the lead in forming an association of all the littoral countries in the Indian Ocean region named Indian Ocean Nations Symposium (IONS) in 2008 and more than 30 countries are part of it. They meet every year to take stock of maritime security situation in their region of interest.
Asked whether Sri lanka raised the issue of a proposal being moved by Mauritius against it in the UN Human Rights Commission, Menon said, “They mentioned that for this kind of cooperation, we need trust and they mentioned that they were concerned that Mauritius is co-sponsoring a resolution in UNHRC and that was it.”
On the influence of politics in Tamil Nadu on cooperation with Sri lanka, the NSA said this cooperation has been going on since October 2011 and politics of it keeps going but maritime security has to be ensured.