• Govt. yet to decide on extending moratorium, extension likely
• China expresses dissatisfaction about MSR request refusal
• Govt. needs practitioner wisdom in forming deliverable policies

Sri Lanka’s year-long moratorium on foreign Marine Scientific Research (MSR) comes to an end this month, with no clear decision by the current Government yet as to how it will address the geopolitically sensitive issue.

In November 2023, the then Government led by former President Ranil Wickremesinghe enacted a year-long moratorium on foreign MSR surveys and port calls following strong diplomatic criticism about multiple visits and surveys by Chinese MSR vessels in Sri Lankan waters and within the island nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 

Sri Lanka also reviewed its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on granting diplomatic clearance for foreign military vessels and aircrafts to call at Sri Lankan ports, adding an annexure on regulating and granting permission for MSR in Sri Lankan waters and the EEZ. The moratorium ends on 31 December.

When asked if the Government had made a decision on extending the moratorium or suspending it, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) Secretary Aruni Ranaraja told The Sunday Morning: “We have time up to the end of December. There is still time to make a decision. We will make a decision before the end (December).”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijith Herath was not available to comment on the matter.

Foreign policy test

As such, this month is likely to become a foreign policy test period for the new National People’s Power (NPP) Government, which will need to wake up from its inward focus to deal with regional geopolitical realities.

With growing geopolitical contests in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Sri Lanka can ill-afford to lose focus on foreign policy issues, especially with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake poised to visit New Delhi this month and a visit to Beijing on the cards for early January. 

Both foreign capitals are likely to inquire from President Dissanayake how Sri Lanka will address the sensitive diplomatic issue and the new Government risks diplomatic fallout if the issue is not handled carefully.

Reports indicate that the Chinese Ambassador to Colombo last week expressed his dissatisfaction regarding Sri Lanka not granting permission for a Chinese MSR vessel to survey in Sri Lankan waters last year, noting that it was ‘disappointing to note that despite the strong ties, the former Sri Lankan Government took such a stance’.

The Sunday Morning learns that several foreign missions in Colombo have raised the issue with the Government over the last few weeks.

A senior Government official close to the matter told The Sunday Morning on terms of anonymity that the key stakeholders within the Government would discuss the moratorium which would likely be ‘extended with a review’. “No decision has been made yet. We will do so in due course,” the senior official said.

Another senior official from a line ministry connected to the matter expressed concern that there was a shift from the previous consultative approach under the former Government to one where the matter was entirely handled by the MFA. “It looks like the issue has been pushed entirely under the purview of the MFA, but there are many stakeholders who should be consulted on how Sri Lanka should approach this issue,” the official said.

It is also reliably learnt that some stakeholders have recommended that the MFA and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) seek approval from the Cabinet of Ministers for an extension of the moratorium, until Sri Lanka manages to develop sovereign capacity to conduct at least limited hydrographic and oceanographic capacity. This is in line with the previous Government’s strategy, where President Wickremesinghe wanted Sri Lanka to build domestic capacity for marine scientific research.

However, it remains unclear whether the current Government will follow in a similar policy direction.

Practitioner wisdom needed

A senior retired diplomat who has played a role in managing Sri Lana’s relationship with both India and Beijing told The Sunday Morning that the new Government should adopt a joint consultative approach with line ministry input to craft a solution to the issue before the deadline is reached.

“When a deadline nears, ad hoc decisions are made, and these are often counterproductive for our national interest. This Government must also act quickly to focus on its foreign policy, now that elections are over. The world does not stop turning just because we as an island are at a standstill due to the change of government. 

“I feel that this Government also needs some practitioner wisdom in how to form deliverable policies. Sri Lanka should also indicate strongly to India and others that its concerns, be they warranted or not, about Chinese vessels calling on Sri Lankans ports is a sovereign decision of Sri Lanka. 

“Both the US and India pontificate about a rules-based order, but they are quick to criticise us when we follow the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which gives freedom of navigation, innocent passage, and port access for replenishment to Chinese vessels. This is duplicity. Of course, the Chinese have not given India, the Americans, or others any opportunity to believe their vessel visits are in good faith and research attempts are innocent, given how they have acted in the South China Sea. 

“Nevertheless, Sri Lanka cannot yield its sovereignty to India and the US by blocking vessels from countries they don’t like. Sri Lanka is an island nation that is dependent on maritime commerce and we must have the ability to allow who we want to call port as it is a means of income, commerce, and diplomacy for our island. This is the agency of our sovereignty. 

“Now, when it comes to the concerns about security implications from research ship visits, yes, we should address that diligently and ensure that no research ship carries out activities in our seas which will harm our region. But we must stand our ground on port calls; that is our right and what is correct under the so-called ‘rules based order’ which both the Americans and India like to preach to us about. 

“It is imperative that Sri Lanka gets the management of its maritime domain right. We should improve our research capacity and make sure that the research is beneficial to Sri Lanka, for our interest and also in the best interests of the ocean ecosystem we depend on,” the retired diplomat opined.

Previous game plan

Speaking to The Sunday Morning earlier this year, former Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said: “We will assess the situation at the end of the year and then decide whether to continue the moratorium or lift it, in that there is a possibility of lifting it. However, it all depends on us and our institutions building sovereign capacity for such surveys.”

“Of course, as a nation that aspires to become a regional and global maritime hub, we are duty-bound to respect and recognise our obligations in terms of UNCLOS to provide facilities for port call and replenishment. Naturally, being a neutral and non-aligned country, we cannot have different rules for different countries, and thus China will also have equal opportunities just like any other country,” Sabry explained.

It is reliably learnt that former President Wickremesinghe had envisioned setting up a sub- committee to study foreign MSR requests received, after Sri Lanka had developed an acceptable level of sovereign capacity, to discontinue the moratorium. He has sought and secured support from several countries, including India, Japan, Australia, the UK, and the US to help Sri Lanka capacity build for MSR, especially for hydrography. 

The Sunday Morning has earlier reported on plans by Japan, Australia, and the US to support this initiative, including supply of hydrographic survey equipment, some of which are expected to be handed over this month, and a purpose-built vessel, which is likely to be donated to Sri Lanka in 2026.

Wickremesinghe also addressed concerns about control and use of the sensitive data derived from joint MSR between Sri Lanka and foreign actors, by including clauses about its control in the revised SOPs, and the establishment of the Sri Lanka National Hydrographic Office (SLNHO) under the purview of the MOD at the Welisara Naval Complex. 

By establishing the SLNHO under the MOD, Wickremesinghe had planned to allay concerns of India, the US, and others about the control and use of the MSR data, which can be used for military and seabed resource mapping application.

There were long-standing national security concerns about the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) entered into between State agencies like the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), multiple State universities, and their Chinese State counterparts for joint MSR.

Under Wickremesinghe, the then State Minister of Defence was tasked with heading a committee formed to review multiple such MoUs between Sri Lankan State entities and foreign actors, for compliance with Sri Lankan national interest. 

One of the key concerns raised by the Sri Lankan security establishment and India has been in terms of what had happened to the data generated from such surveys. It is learnt that some of the research data was found to be missing, while others cannot be ‘read’ by the computer systems and software available to Sri Lankan researchers.  

The SOP

The Sunday Morning learns that the new annexure to the reviewed SOP for diplomatic clearance for foreign MSRs in Sri Lankan waters and the EEZ includes a robust set of regulations which leads to an approval process and checks compliance following approval. 

It is learnt that any future MSR request must be made to the MFA six months ahead of the expected date of the research commencing and that any amendments to the MSR application and the survey request must be made two months ahead of the date of commencement. 

The new SOP, which has been communicated to foreign missions in Colombo, includes conditions which makes it mandatory for local collaboration for research or surveys. It also states that relevant Sri Lankan authorities or designated researchers have a right to participate and must be represented on the research, while the preliminary report and the final report, after the completion of the survey, must be provided to Sri Lankan authorities under the regulations of UNCLOS. 

Observers from the Sri Lanka Navy should be on board the vessel during any survey, it mandates. It also states that a foreign country or international organisation engaged in the joint MSR has no right to claim ownership of biological material collected or see intellectual property rights of such material or any offspring of such. All raw data collected from Sri Lankan territorial waters, the EEZ, and the continental shelf Sri Lanka claims must be provided to Sri Lanka at the end of the survey.

Under the new SOP regulation, Sri Lankan authorities can without notice seek to verify all the scientific equipment and systems on board the research vessel or aircraft. The SOP also states that research data collected shall not be used for any military operations.