{"id":95609,"date":"2019-11-24T17:47:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T00:47:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=95609"},"modified":"2019-11-24T17:47:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-25T00:47:50","slug":"implementation-of-a-national-defence-policy-for-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/11\/24\/implementation-of-a-national-defence-policy-for-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"IMPLEMENTATION OF A NATIONAL DEFENCE POLICY FOR SRI LANKA"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY ASANGA ABEYAGOONASEKERA<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

There are none so blind as those who do not see.\u201d <\/em>Matthew 9:26-27
\n
\nThe most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know.
\n
\nAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)\nand most wanted terrorist leader after Osama Bin Laden, was killed on October\n26th in a US military raid by its Delta Force in the village of Barisha located\nto the northwest of Syria. The killing occurred in the de-escalation zone of\nIdlib. Baghdadi\u2019s rule extended over 88,000 sq km, stretching across the\nIraq-Syria border. He was cornered by US special forces in the dead-end of a\ntunnel, where he detonated an explosive suicide vest, killing himself and three\nof his children.
\n
\nSix months ago, the final known footage of Baghdadi was aired on the militant\ngroup’s al-Furqan media network after the Easter Sunday killing in Sri Lanka,\nwhich claimed the lives of 250 civilians. The local extremist cluster that\ncarried out the attack was influenced by Baghdadi and his terror network across\nSouth Asia.
\n
\nDespite the threat of violent extremism spreading in the Island nation, which\nwas being discussed and documented before the attack, it was not a priority due\nto shortcomings within the security establishment. This was highlighted a week\nago by the recently released Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) report, a\npost-audit of the 4\/21 attack.[1]<\/a> Identifying deficiencies within the\nestablishment and lapses in its decision-making process on national security,\nthe committee\u2019s report reveals the importance and urgency of security sector\nreforms to ensure the public safety of Sri Lankan citizens. 
\n
\nThe report holds eight recommendations. The first is for Sri Lanka’s\ndefense establishment to implement \u2018Essential reforms in the security and\nintelligence sector\u2019 <\/em>by undertaking a comprehensive review of national\nsecurity priorities to identify gaps and weaknesses and areas that require\nreform and strengthening. The recommendations suggest coupling an immediate\nreview of the present structures in place for security and intelligence and\nmapping out tasks, responsibilities and possible areas of overlap. The\nParliamentary Select Committee is of the view that the nation has not\nidentified its national security priorities. It leaves the task of\nstrengthening coordination among the security establishment and key\nstakeholders. The nation requires a National Defence Policy (NDP). 
\n
\nThe Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance sees defence policy as part of\na broader concept of a country\u2019s National Security Policy or National Security\nStrategy. Defence policy encompasses defence planning and management, which\nare consecutive steps towards practical implementation of that policy, down to\nactual command and control. The lines that divide all these concepts or phases\nare often blurred in practice. In general, defence policy covers everything\nfrom ends to ways and means of achieving national defence objectives and is\nguided by codes and principles that are embedded in National Security Policy.\u201d[2]<\/a> Several South Asian nations do not\npossess defence policies shared with their public. Sri Lanka\u2019s closest\nneighbour India, for example, has been criticized for not having a defence\npolicy, a requirement that has been discussed since the time of Prime Minister\nNarasimha Rao in the 1990s. According to Prime Minister Rao:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first criticism has been a\nrather extraordinary kind of criticism to say that we have no National Defence\nPolicy. I would like to submit respectfully that is not true. We do not have a\ndocument called India\u2019s National Defence Policy. But we have got several\nguidelines which are strictly followed and observed and those can be summed up\nas follows: First the Defence of national territory over land, sea and air\nencompassing among others the inviolability of our land borders, island\nterritories, offshore assets and our maritime trade routes. Secondly, to secure\nan internal environment whereby our nation-state is insured against any threats\nto its unity or progress based on religion, language, ethnicity or\nsocio-economic dissonance. Third, to be able to exercise a degree of influence\nover the nations in our immediate neighbourhood to promote harmonious\nrelationships in tune with our national interests. Fourth, to be able to\neffectively contribute towards regional and international stability and to\npossess an effective out-of-the-country contingency capability to prevent\ndestabilization of the small nations in our immediate neighbourhood that could\nhave adverse security implications for us.<\/em>[3]<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

S. Kalyanaraman, Research Fellow at Institute for\nDefence Studies and Analysis in India, explains: one of the staples of the\npopular and even academic discourse on India\u2019s national security during the\nlast few decades has been the assertion that India does not have a defence\npolicy. Such a view is widely shared not only by Indian and foreign scholars\nand analysts but also by retired high-ranking civilian and military officials.\u201d[4]<\/a> A National Defence Policy is a\nstep towards moving away from reacting in an ad hoc manner, while promoting\nstrategic thinking and action in the realm of national security.
\n
\nHas Sri Lanka ever attempted to develop a National Defence Policy?
\n
\n<\/em><\/strong>The first draft of the National Defence Policy was prepared in 2016 by\na team of distinguished military officers along with the Institute of National\nSecurity Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL), a national security think tank. It was prepared\nwith the leadership of Air Chief Marshal Kolitha Gunathilake, Gen. Udaya\nPerera, Gen. Shavendra Silva and many others. After completion, the policy was\nsubmitted to the then Secretary of Defence Karunasena Hettiarachi, who was\ninstrumental in initiating the process, but failed to take it forward due to\nhis sudden transfer. The same policy was handed over to the subsequent Defence\nSecretaries, Kapila Waidyarathne and Hemasiri Fernando. A second attempt was\nengaged after the Easter Sunday bombing with the leadership of General Shantha\nKottegoda and 18 distinguished military officers along with the INSSSL. After\nmuch deliberation, a revised policy was handed over to President Sirisena who\nwould table this at the Cabinet of Sri Lanka. Had this policy guideline been\ntaken up seriously before the Easter Sunday attacks, Sri Lanka would have had\nprogressive reforms in the security sector and perhaps saved many innocent\nlives. The PSC report contains several key recommendations and findings\nhighlighted by the committee, mirrored in the NDP as policy guidelines.
\n
\nSri Lanka\u2019s first-ever NDP is an extensive document outlining 6 national\ndefence interests and 13 objectives, while identifying Sri Lanka\u2019s defence\ncapabilities and discussing the country\u2019s force structure modernization\nefforts. The document identifies the need and the extent to which force\nmodernization ought to be facilitated for the future well-being of the defence\nforces. The purpose of defence policy is to ensure things are done in an\norganized manner and objectives are attained while respecting rules. The\nreforms discussed at the PSC, for example, of creating a National Security\nAdvisor (NSA) and National Security Council (NSC), are clearly identified and\ndiscussed in the National Defence Policy. The NSC will be established under a\nnew secretary-general as a secretariat headed by the President, and it will\nhave 15 permanent members, including the Prime Minister, NSA, State Minister of\nDefence, Minister of Law and Order, Secretary to President, Secretary Defence,\nSecretary of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of Finance, Attorney General, Chief of\nDefence Staff, Tri Force Commanders, IGP and Chief of National Intelligence.
\n
\nThe NDP should be available to the public and, like any other policy, will go\nthrough a periodic review every three years. Such a policy gives strength to\nthe entire system and improves decision making while prioritizing defence\nrequirements. The strategies will be formulated by the respective forces and\noffice of the chief of defence staff (OCDS) to achieve the security\nrequirements from regime to regime.
\n
\nIn a rapidly changing, complex global threat environment in the international\ngeopolitical arena, Sri Lanka faces numerous security threats such as\nextremism, cyberattacks, financial and economic crimes, maritime intrusions,\nenvironmental degradation and natural disasters. Sri Lanka has lost lives and\nproperty each year as a direct result of these threats. Examples of natural\ndisasters include the mudslides in Aranayake[5]<\/a> which killed more than 200 and\ndisplaced 350,000, as well as garbage disasters.[6]<\/a>
\n
\nNational security issues are at the forefront of the November 2019 presidential\nelection. It is pivotal we stimulate and strengthen the process using a\nNational Defence Policy. New threats require new strategies and new\ncapabilities. They also create new responsibilities. One of the fundamental\nquestions is how to optimally balance the resources the nation possesses and\nhow to acquire new resources to address rapidly changing security threats\nfacing Sri Lanka. 
\n
\nAsanga\nAbeyagoonasekera is the director general of the National Security Think Tank of\nSri Lanka (INSSSL) under the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defense. The views\nexpressed here are his own. This article was initially published by Hudson\nInstitute Washington DC.\nhttp:\/\/www.southasiaathudson.org\/blog\/2019\/11\/20\/implementation-of-a-national-defence-policy-for-sri-lanka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> PSC Full Report https:\/\/www.parliament.lk\/uploads\/comreports\/sc-april-attacks-report-en.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a> DCAF Security Sector Integrity https:\/\/securitysectorintegrity.com\/defence-management\/defence-policy\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a> Towards a Clear Defence Policy,\u201d\nP.V. Narasimha Rao Selected Speeches. Volume IV: July 1994 \u2013 June 1995 (New\nDelhi: Government of India, 1995), p. 125.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a> Kalyanaraman, https:\/\/idsa.in\/policybrief\/indias-defence-and-security-priorities-skalyanaraman-240518#footnote6_4dtemjx<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a> SL landslide and rain  https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2016\/may\/18\/sri-lanka-hundreds-of-families-missing-after-landslide-buries-three-villages<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a> SL Garbage dump collapse https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/04\/15\/world\/asia\/sri-lanka-garbage-dump-collapse.html<\/a>
\n
\nImage Source: https:\/\/www.army.lk\/image-gallery<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY ASANGA ABEYAGOONASEKERA There are none so blind as those who do not see.\u201d Matthew 9:26-27 The most deluded people are those who choose to ignore what they already know. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and most wanted terrorist leader after Osama Bin Laden, was killed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-forum"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95609\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}