-By LeN Defence Correspondent
(Lanka-e-News - 26.Sep.2025, 9.10 PM)
On a humid September morning in Welisara, the Wave’ n- Lake Navy Hall was transformed from a military auditorium into the stage of international maritime diplomacy. Flags of 37 nations lined the entrance, officers in crisp whites saluted foreign dignitaries, and translators hurried between clusters of delegates. It was the opening of the 12th Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference, Sri Lanka’s premier security and policy forum on the seas.
The event, inaugurated under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence, drew naval chiefs, defence officials, academics, and diplomats from 16 international organisations and 37 countries—from Russia to Canada, from Bangladesh to Australia. Presiding over the inaugural session was the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, whose very presence underscored how maritime affairs have become central to the island’s identity, security, and foreign policy.
The chosen theme—“Maritime Outlook of the Indian Ocean under Changing Dynamics”—captured the mood. Few regions of the world today embody both opportunity and risk as starkly as the Indian Ocean, where freedom of navigation, the blue economy, climate shocks, and strategic rivalry between great powers intersect.
Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda, Commander of the Navy, set the tone in his welcome address. His speech carried gratitude, but also ambition. “From its inception, the Galle Dialogue has grown into a space for genuine cooperation,” he said, “and this twelfth edition reaffirms Sri Lanka’s determination to stand as a guardian of the seas.”
He linked naval security to the broader ethos of “environmental, social, and ethical transformation”, a telling choice of words in a forum traditionally dominated by strategic jargon. It was a reminder that Sri Lanka is pitching itself not only as a security partner, but as a custodian of sustainability and good governance at sea.
Rear Admiral Damian Fernando, Chief of Staff of the Navy, followed with a crisp introduction of the theme, before yielding the stage to the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Amarasuriya’s keynote was as much a diagnosis of the present as it was a call to the future. She praised the Navy’s convening power but quickly turned to the challenges.
“Geopolitical competition, environmental concerns, illegal migration, and non-traditional maritime challenges,” she warned, “will define our shared horizon. We must confront these not as individual states but as collective custodians of the Indian Ocean.”
Her emphasis on lawful ocean use, freedom of navigation, and marine conservation echoed international anxieties about contested waters, from the South China Sea to the Red Sea. But she also placed weight on the blue economy—the sustainable use of marine resources for economic growth. This, she argued, was central to ensuring that the Indian Ocean remained not just a highway for warships, but a lifeline for coastal communities.
The applause that followed was polite but firm. For many in the audience, it was clear: Sri Lanka was staking a claim to relevance at a time when smaller states are often drowned out by the roar of naval giants.
To understand why the Galle Dialogue matters, one must appreciate Sri Lanka’s geography. Perched like a sentinel at the centre of the Indian Ocean, the island is wedged between two maritime chessboards: to its west, the US base at Diego Garcia, the heart of America’s Indo-Pacific strategy; to its east, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India’s forward-deployed fortress.
Every tanker leaving the Strait of Hormuz, every container ship crossing from the Malacca Strait, traces a path not far from Sri Lanka’s southern waters. The result is a paradox: Sri Lanka does not command global naval power, yet it commands attention from every navy that does.
This reality explains why Colombo’s maritime dialogues attract such diverse participation. For Washington, Beijing, New Delhi, Moscow, and Canberra alike, Sri Lanka is not a peripheral player but a pivot.
Over two days, the conference unfolded in four structured sessions, each weaving together the five designated thematic areas:
Marine Environment: Scientists and naval officers warned of the plastic crisis, illegal dumping, and the vulnerability of coral reefs. Rising sea levels, they noted, pose as great a threat to coastal bases as missiles.
Maritime Governance: Discussions revolved around UNCLOS, the law of the sea, and regional efforts to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Delegates stressed the need for stronger maritime domain awareness systems, linking radar, satellite, and AI-driven monitoring.
Maritime Economy: The blue economy dominated. From offshore wind farms to deep-sea minerals, speakers debated how littoral states could unlock resources without sacrificing ecological stability.
Maritime Sustainability and a Clean Indian Ocean: Here, the tone turned urgent. Without coordinated action, one delegate warned, the Indian Ocean could face an environmental collapse akin to the Mediterranean “dead zones.”
Though technical, these sessions carried strategic weight. Environmental collapse would not only devastate economies but also drive migration, fuel instability, and invite external interventions.
Away from the plenary hall, the real business of maritime politics continued in side rooms. Vice Admiral Banagoda held talks with Admiral Dinesh K. Tripathi, India’s Chief of Naval Staff, a meeting closely watched given the delicate India–Sri Lanka–China triangle.
There were also discussions with officers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Russia, the Netherlands, Thailand, Canada, Australia, and Singapore. Each bilateral carried its own flavour: counter-smuggling cooperation with Bangladesh, training exchanges with Australia, technology-sharing with the Netherlands.
For Sri Lanka, these were not just courtesy meetings. They were steps in a careful balancing act: maintaining India’s trust, avoiding Chinese alienation, keeping US goodwill, and drawing in European and ASEAN support.
No Indian Ocean conference can escape the shadow of rivalry. Though the Galle Dialogue prides itself on neutrality, the subtext was clear.
India’s naval assertiveness loomed large, especially its expansion of facilities at Port Blair and its leadership of the Indian Ocean Rim Association.
The US presence at Diego Garcia remains the unmovable anchor of Western strategy, even as Washington courts Colombo to keep Chinese influence in check.
Russia’s participation signalled Moscow’s attempt to remind the world it still has blue-water ambitions, despite being absorbed in Europe.
For Sri Lanka, neutrality is both shield and sword. It insists it will not be a pawn in great-power games, but it also recognises that its value lies precisely in being courted by all sides.
Perhaps the most striking element of the conference was how much time was devoted to non-traditional threats. Migration crises, narcotics trafficking, piracy, and climate shocks are increasingly viewed as the “new frontlines.”
Sri Lanka’s Navy has already intercepted multi-ton consignments of heroin in the past decade, much of it linked to syndicates spanning Afghanistan, Iran, and Myanmar. The Prime Minister warned that the next wave could involve synthetic drugs with even more devastating social consequences.
Meanwhile, illegal migration across the Indian Ocean—to Australia, to the Gulf, to Africa—was cited as a destabilising factor requiring coordinated patrols.
The linking of these issues to security policy reflects a broader shift: the recognition that warships may fight pirates as often as they prepare for peer conflict.
As the conference moved into its second day, the mood was one of cautious optimism. Delegates acknowledged the scale of the challenges but also the value of dialogue.
The closing sessions, devoted to the maritime economy and sustainability, underscored the central paradox: that the Indian Ocean is simultaneously a treasure chest and a tinderbox. The decisions made in the coming decade—on oil, on fisheries, on seabed mining—will determine whether the ocean becomes a source of prosperity or a theatre of conflict.
The guest list itself told a story. Among those present were envoys, senior officials, former commanders, and current heads of all three services. The symbolism was deliberate: the Galle Dialogue is no longer just a Navy event, but a whole-of-state performance of maritime commitment.
The presence of Deputy Ministers including Deputy Minister of Defence Hon. Aruna Jayaseka (Retd), Admiral of the Fleet Wasantha Karannagoda and retired Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha reminded attendees of continuity, while the younger officers in the hall hinted at the future.
For Sri Lanka, convening the Galle Dialogue is not an act of vanity. It is an assertion of relevance. In a world where superpowers jostle for dominance, Colombo seeks to demonstrate that small states, too, can convene, mediate, and lead.
The island’s geopolitical position—midway between Diego Garcia and the Andamans—cannot be replicated. By turning geography into diplomacy, Sri Lanka hopes to secure not just security, but also investment, partnerships, and respect.
As the final gavel falls and the delegates disperse, what remains is the sense of an ocean in flux. The Indian Ocean is not yet the flashpoint that the South China Sea has become. But its importance—strategic, economic, ecological—is undeniable.
The 12th Galle Dialogue did not resolve these tensions, nor was it intended to. Its value lies in convening, in conversation, in the recognition that despite rivalry, cooperation remains possible.
For Sri Lanka, this is both burden and opportunity. It stands at the heart of the ocean’s crossroads, courted by powers, constrained by geography, but emboldened by dialogue. If the Galle Dialogue proves anything, it is that the future of the Indian Ocean will not be written by one navy alone. It will be shaped, imperfectly but inevitably, by many.
By LeN Defence Correspondent
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by (2025-09-26 15:44:48)
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