Securing Sri Lanka’s seabed sovereignty
The government is compelled to enter the “blue economy” race for deep-sea minerals and the intensifying geopolitical competition over seabed resources in the Indian Ocean as it is of strategic importance, several maritime experts and hydrographers emphasised.
Sri Lanka has to transform its maritime potential into tangible economic and strategic advantages, shaping the Indian Ocean’s future even with the collaboration of India settling disputes.
Rear Admiral (Retd) Y.N. Jayarathna (Former Chief Hydrographer) outlined the country’s prospects and challenges when he delivered a keynote address at the 4th Indian Ocean Security Conference held recently in Colombo organised by the Pathfinder Foundation.
He noted that while Sri Lanka had an early start in seabed charting, a “lack of strategic foresight and leadership” had taken the wind out of the sails.
It has allowed regional competitors like China to commit significant resources to mapping the Indian Ocean seabed, he disclosed.
Dr. Kithsiri Manchanayake, Geological and Mines Bureau chairman, revealed that the Bureau is implementing online systems to better manage mineral zones and ensure that “illegal mining can be controlled more easily” to protect state revenue.
A maritime dispute is intensifying at present as Sri Lanka opposed India’s application to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploring cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts on the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (ANS) in the Indian Ocean, a leading Oceanographer told the Sunday Times Business.
Sri Lanka claims the area falls within its extended continental shelf submitted to the UN, causing the ISA to put India’s application on hold, he revealed.
India is seeking exploration rights for the ANS, an underwater mountain rich in cobalt, a critical mineral for electric vehicle batteries and green technology.
India’s push for the area is partly motivated by a desire to secure resources before China, which has been conducting surveillance with research vessels in the region, he pointed out.
The government has yet to post a permanent delegate to the International Seabed Authority (ISA) headquarters, reflecting a lack of “institutional momentum” at the national leadership level, a prominent mineral sector expert told the Sunday Times Business
Sri Lanka’s submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) to extend its maritime boundary beyond 200 nautical miles has been put on hold. This is mostly because of the overlapping claims made by India in the same area.
While countries like China and India have been actively mapping the Indian Ocean’s seabed, Sri Lanka’s efforts have been referred to as “reactionary” and lacking a long-term strategic plan.
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