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Safety of undersea cables vital for interconnected world: PM
View(s):Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said this week that while the economic and commercial well-being of most countries depend on internet traffic, there are concerns that a vital component lies in an unregulated maze on the seabed around Sri Lanka.
He was referring to the numerous undersea internet connectivity cables which account for nearly 80 percent of the global internet traffic.
The premier raised this point at the “Indian Ocean: Defining our Future” conference held on October 10 and 11 at Temple Trees. He said Sri Lanka would establish an international centre in Colombo to ensure the safety of undersea cables, with the help of the Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The event was jointly organised by the Foreign Ministry, the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKI) and the UNODC. Mr. Wickremesinghe underscored the need for collective action to counter existing and emerging maritime crime in the Indian Ocean. Sri Lanka was planning to strengthen maritime surveillance and operational capabilities, he said, pointing out that collaboration was needed to enhance surface situational awareness of territorial waters and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
“Sri Lanka in the middle of the Indian Ocean sees a need to examine these issues in depth. All of the digital connectivity between the east and the west traverses over the seabed close to Sri Lanka. We want to ensure the freedom of digital connectivity as a global objective,” he said.
The Premier said Sri Lanka hoped to achieve consensus on the need for a shared understanding on navigation and connectivity in the Indian Ocean Region. “Based on the interest expressed at the conference, we can go forward to a ministerial conference on securing Freedom of Navigation and Freedom of Digital Connectivity,” he said.