Sri Lanka to review national security strategy amidst growing international rivalries: President Wickremesinghe
Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday highlighted the need for a comprehensive review of Sri Lanka's national security strategy to chart a course devoid of entanglement in the emerging international rivalries and maintain neutrality in the Indian Ocean region. The review will include a broad range of factors, emerging economic trends and the impacts of climate change, Wickremesinghe said, addressing a Naval gathering in the southern district of Galle. The President has already appointed a team led by a retired Major General to report to the National Security Council for formulating contemporary security policies.
He said the dynamics of today's landscape witness the encroachment of global power struggles into the Indian Ocean's realm. «On one front, a contest for supremacy unfolds between the United States and China across the expanses of the Pacific Ocean. Simultaneously, a power struggle emerges between the Western nations and Russia in the context of Ukraine.
This competition for influence extends even to remote reaches such as Niger in Africa,» he said. Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka should maintain neutrality in the Indian Ocean region. «Undoubtedly, the Indian Ocean hosts the world's pivotal trade routes, making Sri Lanka an integral player at this stage.
As we navigate these waters, it is imperative that we chart a course devoid of entanglement in these international rivalries, maintaining an impartial stance. Our foremost concern must be the safeguarding of our security within this sphere,» the president said. He said the utilisation of submarines in the Indian Ocean has increased.
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