Sri Lanka’s national security thinking has long been shaped by a brutal land war. For nearly three decades, the country’s military posture, budgets, and instincts were forged in the crucible of internal conflict. That made sense then. But, it does not make sense now.

At a recent Pathfinder Foundation event, Admiral Jayanath Colombage put it bluntly. Our military was designed and developed throughout a three-decade-long civil conflict. But now we have come a long way from 2009 until 2026. And now the maritime domain has gained significant attention. If the recent events involving Iranian warships were any indication, that shift is no longer theoretical. 

On the other hand, the Indian Ocean is no longer just a trade route. It is becoming increasingly relevant for security. 

The recent torpedo strike within Sri Lanka’s Exclusive Economic Zone exposed a glaring blind spot. We have a responsibility to not only maintain surveillance but even to carry out rescue and respond to various possible maritime accidents in this vast ocean space. That responsibility goes beyond saving lives at sea, though Sri Lanka did precisely that. It extends to awareness, deterrence, and the ability to know what is happening above and below the waterline.

Here lies the uncomfortable truth. Sri Lanka’s defence architecture remains overwhelmingly land-centric. Colombage posed a question that deserves serious reflection. Can we envisage an external invasion of Sri Lanka? If that is so, then why does so much of our thinking remain anchored to a threat that is improbable, while the sea around us grows more volatile by the year?

Focusing too much on the land forces may not be the best idea, he said candidly and added, increasingly the maritime domain is becoming important, and therefore we need to focus more on maritime surveillance, maritime recce, maritime rescue, maritime disaster response, and maritime accident response. 

This is not an argument to weaken the Army. It is an argument to rebalance. The threats have evolved. So must the strategy.

The sea is no longer just surface ships. It has submarines, unmanned systems and long-range strike capabilities. We must also keep in mind that Sri Lanka had little warning of the submarine presence linked to the recent strike. It indicates that it is not just about maritime domain awareness, but it is now a multi-domain awareness. It’s not only the surface of the water; now we have to think of the sub-surface.

In the words of Admiral Colombage, Sri Lanka has nearly zero capability when it comes to the undersea domain. That is a sobering assessment for a country that sits astride one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. Hundreds of vessels pass just south of our shores every day. Energy flows, container traffic, naval deployments. The idea that advanced submarines may operate undetected in our wider maritime space should concern policymakers across the political spectrum.

Yet, realism must temper ambition. It is easy to say that we need to have a bigger Navy, but the economy of scale is a major problem. The reality is all of this cost money, and we have very little of it.

So what is the way forward?

First, strategy must precede procurement. The Admiral argued that a national security strategy should be an evolving one, responsive to new threats rather than frozen in time. Maritime security must sit at its core, not as an afterthought.

Second, technology and partnerships matter. The focus should be on surveillance, intelligence-sharing and maritime domain awareness. Radar networks, satellite data, regional coordination, and coastal monitoring systems may deliver more value than simply acquiring larger platforms.

Third, regional cooperation must be strengthened. The Colombo Maritime Security Conclave offers a framework. The question before us is how can we think of effective regional countermeasures to the new threats emerging in the ocean? That question demands answers not just from Sri Lanka, but from India, Maldives and other Indian Ocean partners.

Finally, there must be political will. Security debates in Sri Lanka often react to crisis. 

The sea has always defined Sri Lanka’s destiny. It brought trade, faith, and invasion in earlier centuries. Today it brings opportunity, but also risk. The era when security could be understood primarily in terms of land checkpoints and internal threats has passed.

If the Indian Ocean is becoming the arena of great-power competition, then Sri Lanka cannot afford to remain strategically landlocked in its thinking. The time has come to turn seaward, not in alarm, but in preparation. Maritime security is no longer a specialist concern. It is the foundation of national security in the twenty-first century.