NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th November, 2020) The national security advisers of India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka have agreed to intensify the trilateral cooperation for maritime security, including by boosting intelligence sharing, according to a joint statement issued on Saturday.
The statement came following the 4th National Security Adviser (NSA) level Trilateral Meeting on Maritime Security Cooperation hosted by the Sri Lanka's city of Colombo in a virtual format. The meeting was attended by Ajit Doval representing India, Mariya Didi for the Maldives and Kamal Gunaratne for Sri Lanka, as well as representatives of Mauritius and Seychelles.
"Recognizing the significance of the forum for promoting meaningful cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region on common issues pertaining to maritime security, the three countries took stock of the current maritime security environment in the region," the statement read, adding that the parties have agreed to "further strengthen cooperation in dealing with these challenges, to ensure peace and security in the region for common benefit."
The specific areas of cooperation discussed included maritime domain awareness, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, joint exercises, capacity building, maritime security and threats, marine pollution, and maritime underwater heritage, according to the statement.
"The three countries also exchanged views on common security threats and agreed to broad base cooperation by expanding the scope to improve intelligence sharing and include issues like terrorism, radicalization, extremism, drugs, arms and human trafficking, money laundering, cyber security and effect of climate change on maritime environment," the statement read.
The trilateral NSA-level format of maritime security talks was launched in 2011. Three meetings had been held so far, with the latest one hosted by New Delhi in 2014. The participants of the fourth meeting have agreed to establish a Deputy NSA-level working group that would meet biannually to discuss the cooperation progress at operational level.
