The 3rd Pathfinder Indian Ocean Security Conference concluded its two-day event on 29th February, having deliberated on the Indo-Pacific Strategy and several other contemporary themes of regional and extra-regional importance. The conference, a gathering of local and foreign delegates, underscored in particular the Indian Ocean’s critical importance in global security and the resilience of supply chains.
The Chief Guest was President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who outlined Sri Lanka’s strategic commitment to preventing power rivalries and ensuring freedom of navigation in the Indian Ocean region. He highlighted the ongoing disruption of shipping in the Red Sea due to military activities in the region. The President also underscored the significance of the Suez Canal for international shipping, drawing on experiences like the canal’s closure during the Six-Day War in 1967, which had adverse effects on the Port of Colombo, to emphasize the critical need for unhindered maritime passage.
Highlighting emerging security concerns, particularly in the undersea domain, President Wickremesinghe called for a reassessment of traditional approaches to maritime security. He pointed to the Indian Ocean’s prominence and stressed the importance of understanding Sri Lanka’s role within the broader Indo-Pacific framework. The President remarked on the evolving dynamics of the Indo-Pacific, shaped by post-World War II security architecture and the need for Sri Lanka to navigate these changes carefully.
President Wickremesinghe reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s dedication to promoting stability and cooperation in the Indian Ocean while emphasizing an inclusive approach that respects the ocean’s historical significance and the perspectives of its diverse stakeholders. Through strategic foresight and diplomatic nuance, Sri Lanka aims to navigate the evolving geopolitical terrain whilst ensuring long-term peace and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region, he concluded.
The two-day event, the third in a series of biennial conferences, was held in a hybrid format to enable broader global participation, and it focused on three themes, viz. The Indo-Pacific strategy and its implications to the Indian Ocean community, Security and economic dimensions of Underwater Domain Awareness, and Climate Change, Disaster Management and Blue-Green Economy.
Mr. Kim Heriot-Darragh, Research Fellow, Perth USAsia Centre of the University of Western Australia, presented the paper on “Indo-Pacific and its implications on the Indian Ocean Community”. Amb. (Retd.) Ahmed A. Jawad, Director-Centre for Indo-Lanka Initiatives of the Pathfinder Foundation, moderated the session while Amb. (Retd.) H M G S Palihakkara, former Foreign Secretary; Dr. Liu-Zongyi, Senior Fellow and Director, Centre for South Asia Studies of the Shanghai Institute of International Studies; and Prof. Chris Alden, Director of London School of Economics, were the panellists.
Dr. (Cdr.) Arnab Das, Founder & Director of the Maritime Research Centre of Pune, India, was the main presenter of session 2, which dealt with the Security and Economic Dimensions of Underwater Domain Awareness. Admiral Jayantha Perera, former Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, functioned as Moderator of the session, while Rear Admiral (Retd.) Dimuthu Gunawardena, former Acting Director General and Director (Communications and Publications) at the Institute of National Security and Prof. Jeffrey Payne, Assistant Professor at Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies of the National Defense University of USA, participated as panellists.
In session 3, the conference discussed interrelated subjects covering climate change, maritime disaster management, and the blue-green economy. Dr. Richard Jeo, Senior Vice President and Chief Field Offer, Asia-Pacific Field Division of Conservation International, Virginia, USA, presented a paper on the subject. Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara, Professor of Oceanography, Dept. of Oceanography and Marine Geology of the University of Ruhuna, contributed as Moderator of the session. At the same time, Dr. Athaulla Rasheed, a Doctoral Researcher at the Australian National University and Prof. Rashed Uz Zaman of the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, joined as panellists.
The participation of Mr. Milinda Moragoda, founder of the Pathfinder Foundation, alongside the US Ambassador Julie Chung and Deputy Assistant Minister Hayashi Makoto of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, enhanced the importance of the conference. The governments of the United States and Japan sponsored the event. Ambassador (Retd.) Shivshankar Menon, former Indian foreign secretary and national security advisor of India, along with Amb. (Retd.) Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of the Pathfinder Foundation, co-chaired the conference. Heads of diplomatic missions based in Colombo, officials of ministries, members of the Tri Forces, representatives of academic institutions, think tanks, the print and electronic media, and nearly 150 virtual participants from around the globe further enhanced the importance of this biennial event.
