India-Lanka-Maldives revive NSA level dialogue six years since last meet

NEW DELHI: India-Sri Lanka-Maldives are all set to revive trilateral dialogue between NSAs of the three states, six years after it was stalled, eyeing to counter-terror in the zone and provide stability to the region.

Maj Gen (Retd). Kamal Gunaratne is hosting National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in Colombo for the 4th NSA Level Meeting on Trilateral Maritime Security Cooperation, being hosted by Sri Lanka on Friday-Saturday. ET had first reported that this trilateral dialogue will be revived.

Earlier Meetings were held in 2011 in Maldives, in 2013 in Sri Lanka, and in 2014 in India. The NSA-level Trilateral Meeting has served as an effective platform for cooperation among Indian Ocean countries. Mauritius and Seychelles attended the 3rd meeting as guest countries, officials said.

Defence Minister Mariya Didi will also participate in the meeting representing Maldives. On the sidelines of the Trilateral Meeting, Doval is also expected to have other high level bilateral engagements.

India for decades has positioned itself as the net-security provider in the region. At the second meeting in Colombo in July 2013, the three countries agreed on a roadmap for cooperation in maritime security, comprising the three categories of activities: Initiatives to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) through access to systems run under the aegis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), such as Long Range Identification and Tracking services and sharing of Automatic Identification System data; Training and capacity building initiatives in areas of MDA, Search and Rescue, and Oil Pollution Response; and Joint activities including trilateral exercises, maintaining lines of communication on illegal maritime activities, formulation of marine oil pollution response contingency plans and cooperation in legal and policy issues related to piracy.

During the third NSA-Level meeting in Delhi, the NSA reviewed and expressed satisfaction over the progress in the implementation of various activities in the identified areas. They also discussed new areas of cooperation including hydrography; training in Visit, Board, Search and Seizure Operations; training on board Indian Sail Training Ships; exchanges between think tanks; and joint participation in adventure activities.