India, Sri Lanka and Maldives to collaborate on security

India, Sri Lanka and Maldives to collaborate on security

Part of: GS Prelims and GS – II – International relations

In news The first Deputy National Security Adviser (DNSA) level Meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave was hosted virtually by Sri Lanka.

• Its Secretariat is located in Colombo.
• Their meeting marked the revival of NSA-level trilateral talks on maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region after a gap of six years.

 What is Colombo Security Conclave?

• The decision to establish Colombo Security Conclave was taken in November 2020 at the NSA-level meeting of India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives to forge closer cooperation on maritime and security matters among the three Indian Ocean countries.
• The Deputy NSA level meeting was a follow-up to the decisions taken at the NSA level meeting.
• The idea of ‘Colombo Security Conclave’ was initiated by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2011.

 Key address points from the meeting

• The DNSA level meeting identified four pillars of cooperation under the Colombo Security Conclave – Marine Safety and Security, Terrorism and Radicalization, Trafficking and Organised Crime and Cybersecurity.
• It discussed specific proposals for each of these pillars including holding regular interaction, joint exercises, capacity building and training activities.
• All members expressed keen desire to cooperate in the areas of maritime safety and security through joint exercises of navies and Coast Guards.
• They held focussed discussion on combating marine pollution.
• The three Observer states – Bangladesh, Mauritius and Seychelles – have been invited to join the conclave as full members at the next NSA level meeting which is expected to be organized later this year in Maldives.

 Significance:

• The coming together of the 6 Indian Ocean region countries in India’s immediate neighbourhood on a common maritime and security platform is significant in wider global context as well.
• The initiative, grounded in military and security collaboration, assumes significance in the region, due to the geostrategic relationship that India shares with Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
  • Earlier this year, India aired security concerns over China being awarded development projects in an island off Sri Lanka’s northern province, close to India’s southern border.

News Source: TH