Rational of Maritime Strategic Thinking for Small States in the Indian Ocean Region: Sri Lankan Perspective
November 02, 2023by Commander Roshan Kulatunga
Published on Ocean Security Conference: South Asia and the Indian Ocean on 16th October 2023.
This paper attempts to find the essentiality and rationally of theoretical and philosophical understanding of maritime strategies in small-state studies in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Sri Lanka is a small state (according to its qualitative characteristics) situated in the IOR, and traditional and non-traditional maritime security issues are inevitable. Being an island nation situated closer to the Indian sub-continent and as a bridge to connect the East-West Sea Lines of Communications (SLOCs), Sri Lanka accumulated exceptional strategic value among the other small island states in the IOR. This region is more vulnerable to non-traditional security issues like transnational crimes. The USA's containment strategy for China and pivotal strategies with India, multilateral defense cooperation of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD), and a trilateral security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (AUKUS) are seminal in Sri Lanka's maritime challenges. At this juncture, Sri Lanka is squeezed between larger polities when creating strategic decisions in the field of the maritime domain. The inherent structural weakness, political instability, poor economy, and limited diplomatic clout are notable grievances of small states in this region. The existing literature minimally discusses the maritime strategies of small states in the IOR. Sri Lanka has given the least attention to rationality in maritime strategic thinking culture and the development of intellect in contemporary studies. This research aims to understand the timely necessity of developing maritime strategic thinking and the significance of a philosophical approach to research maritime strategies in small-state studies.
The maritime strategy formulation process is a science. The Sri Lanka Navy is the country’s predominant and authoritarian maritime component among the other maritime affiliates. This power has developed over time as a result of the maritime anarchy of this small state. On the contrary, other maritime affiliates in the country have a similar responsibility for contributing to the maritime strategy formulation process. At the time of writing this research, the national security strategy development process is in progress. Maritime strategy is an important constituent as well as a part-and-parcel ingredient of national security strategy. Meanwhile, maritime strategies must conform to the requirements of the social system and national policies. Beyond all, the formulators of maritime strategies must carefully and rationally go through the philosophical value, strategic thoughts, guidelines, and principles of maritime strategies. Meanwhile, military strategy is the particular form of knowledge and philosophy used to apply any kind of conflict or difficulty to a state. Land, air, and maritime strategies are subsets of military strategy. Ancient military strategies would have been jealously guarded and handled by the allied classes of the states. The most peculiar thing about military strategy is that only military officers and high-ranking officials have studied it in the military as well as strategic thinkers in their statecraft. This form of strategy very rarely comes to the hands of the general public. Land, air, and maritime strategies have been developed over the centuries by military experts such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Chanakya, Jomini, King Parakramabahu the Great, Prince Machiavelli, Carl von Clausewitz, Admiral Mahan, Hans Morgenthau, Sir Julian Corbett, Admiral Gorshkov, Admiral Castex, Admiral Wegener, etc. These historians and philosophers have given a wealth of knowledge to the future of warfare. They are well-versed in statecraft and military and maritime strategies, and states have been using this knowledge to develop national security policies. Western and Eastern approaches to the Art of War, Continental and Bluewater thinking of Sea power, Kautilya's Arthashastra, The Prince, and On War are a few historical pieces of literature that have to be mastered by maritime strategists. This literature gives a wealth of knowledge to understand the ends, means, and ways to achieve the victory or strategic objectives of the state. Further, these are compromises with statecraft, which gives a broader perspective on using instruments of power to achieve the national interests of states. Meanwhile, international relations concepts such as Balance, Bandwagon, Strategic Hedging, and Shelter theory are some of the few areas that are essential to be inculcated in small-state studies. The research methods used in the present research are descriptive and analytical. The study is mainly based on secondary sources, and primary data has been gathered in the form of interviews with maritime and security policymakers and strategic and operational-level decision-makers in the country. This research found that the unstable national security policy-making process created chaos in the maritime strategy formulation process. Observation has shown the reluctance of cooperation within domestic maritime affiliates, lack of interoperability, and coherent functionalism in the maritime strategy development process. Also, the philosophical and theoretical understanding of maritime-related concepts and small-state studies must be further strengthened to support the maritime strategy formulation process. This will enable us to address the traditional and non-traditional maritime threats and challenges facing small states in the IOR. It is first recommended to inculcate the maritime strategic thinking culture into the Sri Lankan maritime structure (civil and military maritime affiliates). Next is the transformation of existing knowledge into a philosophical and theoretical fulcrum. It is also recommended that the timely necessity of establishing a maritime academic forum or strategic center for policy analysts, policymakers, and scholars in maritime security be recognized. Further, it is essential to inculcate these theoretical and philosophical understandings of military and maritime warfare and strategic thinking in the development of maritime policies for Sri Lankan maritime strategic culture. In-depth research on maritime strategies as a philosophy is an enabler for small states to effectively engage with traditional and non-traditional maritime security threats and challenges to enhance ocean security in the IOR.
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* Keywords: military strategy, maritime strategy, philosophy, small states, theory
ISBN: 978-624-5823-04-08
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