The Government of Sri Lanka finally moved to hold crisis management talks with relevant stakeholders on managing the impact of India-Pakistan conflict on Sri Lankan ports and shipping, with the Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Bimal Ratnayake recently chairing high-level discussions on the matter. According to news reports, the meeting, held with the participation of key stakeholders from the sector, focused on strategies to manage the expected increase in ship arrivals at local ports due to regional disruptions. Officials from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority, Airport and Aviation Services, terminal operations from the Colombo and Hambantota Ports, shipping companies, and Customs were present at the meeting, the Media Division of the Ministry of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation said.

The move, while better late than never, is indicative of how the Sri Lankan governance structure functions. Sri Lankan governance usually works in a reactionary format, waiting for a crisis to occur or manifest to respond to it. The brutal terror attacks which claimed 26 lives in Kashmir in April, triggered an escalation of long standing conflict between India and Pakistan, two nuclear-armed nations who are Sri Lanka’s neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region. Sri Lanka has long standing relations with both nations. As such, Sri Lanka’s foreign policy establishment and Government should have been able to foresee the possible escalation and acted to ensure Sri Lankan interests were better looked after ahead of the crisis reaching kinetic responses between India and Pakistan. Unfortunately, this did not happen. In the typical lethargic manner of processing information and responding to issues, the governance system of Sri Lanka took time to respond. Sri Lanka should have been proactive in addressing issues regarding the temporary shutting down of airspace by India and Pakistan, and restrictions placed on port and coastal activities due to escalation in armed conflict. Sri Lanka is yet to issue a travel advisory for Sri Lankans who are in both countries, or issue guidelines for thousands employed and studying in both countries. Furthermore, Sri Lanka is yet to address concerns about our food security given the ongoing situation in the neighbourhood. Sri Lanka is reliant on India and Pakistan for sourcing food items such as rice, onions, potatoes, and dhal, all of which are staples in the Sri Lankan diet. 

However, last week, when inquired were made, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Daily Morning that the ministry had held discussion with the diplomats from both countries, to discuss the impact of the cross boarder armed conflict on Sri Lankans on both sides of the fence. According to the MFA, there are 437 Sri Lankan students currently in India, while 479 are in Pakistan. The MFA had urged the students who had not registered with Sri Lankan missions in the respective capitals to do so and had established two dedicated WhatsApp numbers for students and their parents to seek information and assistance from the ministry if needed. The Ministry of Defence, when asked about the status and safety of Sri Lankan armed forces personnel who are undergoing training in both countries, told The Daily Morning that the MOD had discussed the safety of our personnel with both foreign mission in Sri Lanka, and necessary contingencies were being planned for. One can only hope that the other branches of the Government would move to address concerns, such as energy security, medicine supply and others diligently, to reduce or negate any impact from such regional conflicts, before they escalate to a stage where action becomes difficult.

Small States like Sri Lanka can cope with their vulnerabilities only by building their ability to identify, preempt, recover quickly from, and withstand, harmful external shocks. For such, Sri Lanka needs to have a robust, well-resourced and trained foreign policy apparatus which is cognizant of what’s happening around the world, and also needs a nimble governance structure where experts can guide national leadership to act fast based on sound analysis. Lessons must be learned and incorporated if Sri Lanka is to effectively survive an increasingly challenging world.