Premier calls for rule-based Indian Ocean order for region's peace and prosperity

Sri Lanka intends to take a lead role in initiating a legal order in the Indian Ocean to ensure freedom of navigation, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said. Delivering the inaugural address at the 2017 Indian Ocean Conference at Temple Trees, the Prime Minister said the country was looking forward to engaging with all interested parties and littoral states in creating a “policy framework to promote intra-regional trade within a timeline” so that economic activity in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) could be enhanced.

He said the recent Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC) Report had noted that nine of the 32 countries predicted to be leading economies of the world in 2050, will be from the IOR. The nine countries are Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Iran.

“This reality will increase our strategic importance in the globe,” the Premier said.

Despite these promising predictions, intra-trade in the Indian Ocean Region including the Bay of Bengal remains low, Mr Wickremesinghe said, adding that South Asia was the least economically integrated region in the world.

The Premier said that unlike in the European and Pacific nations, there is an absence of political will to promote Indian Ocean Economic Cooperation more specifically, trade liberalisation and connectivity.

Businesses in the region must grow for intra-regional trade to develop, he said. "These businesses require capital for expansion, which is a scarce commodity in the region."

Proposing the establishment of an Indian Ocean Development Fund, the Prime Minister said such a fund would make financial resources available to national development banks, promoting growth and expansion in the region.

He pointed out that 10 critical choke points in the Indian Ocean remain vulnerable to air and maritime encounters and possible terrorist attacks by non-state actors. "Given the rising conflicts in West Asia, the world’s major powers have deployed substantial military forces in the Indian Ocean Region. This trend will continue for some more time until the world community gets together and resolve the causes for these conflicts," he said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka believed that maintaining the freedom of navigation was of paramount importance for Sri Lanka to become the hub in the Indian Ocean. “It is only then, can we reap the full benefits of our strategic location as well as the availability of ports on all coasts and two international airports with good land connectivity.”

The Premier proposed that a Code of Conduct which ensures freedom of navigation in the IOR would be an essential component in creating a shared vision for economic and security engagement in the region.

“In our view, the vital Sea Lanes of Communication in the Indian Ocean that fuel the global economy needs to be open for all and must be used for mutual benefit in a sustainable manner. It is essential to maintain peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region which ensures the right of all states to the freedom of navigation and overflight," he said. It would also ensure that unhindered lawful maritime commerce was conducted in keeping with current international laws and regulations,” he insisted.

“It is our belief that if we all work for these common objectives, sustainable peace and prosperity in our region can be undoubtedly achieved,” Mr Wickremesinghe said.