Colombo – Galle Face Hotel, 21-22 Oct 2019

The Galle Dialogue 2019, with the theme “Refining mindset to address transnational maritime threats; A review of the decade” focussed on preparing for the future with a revised mindset to address transnational maritime threats based on the experiences of the stakeholders in last 10 years. This year’s event saw stakeholders invited to present case-studies based on facts, figures, lessons learned and recommendations in preparing for the third decade of the new millennium. The Dialogue revisited issues that stakeholders faced in the past decade, to share best practices in addressing, mitigating and curbing threats posed to the good order of the maritime space in the Indian Ocean. Galle Dialogue, since its inception in 2010, has become the premier dialogue in the Indian Ocean region.

Figure 1 Galle Dialogue 2019

Capt. Martin was invited to present a paper in the Dialogue. He presented his analysis on threats in the Indian Ocean during a 10 year period in Session 3, Non Traditional Threats. Session 1 was on Maritime Security and Session 2 on Shipping and Economy. Session 4 was on Environment Protection and Session 5 on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). This year’s event saw the participation of 52 countries and 10 organisations including MIMA.

In Session 3, Capt. Martin presented on the National Maritime Single Points of Contact (NMSPOC). He explained that Illegal fishing and smuggling/trafficking are the most significant threats in the Indian Ocean region. Transnational Crime Syndicates are making a grand fortune. Governments are spending billions on maritime security and in turn are also losing billions from taxes, fines, resources and human capital. There needs to be a balance between sovereignty and economy when addressing information sharing in maritime security.

Figure 2: Presenting at Session 3

He described on the various regional Maritime Information Sharing Centres in the region i.e. Indian Ocean Fusion Centre (IOFC) in India, the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC) in Madagascar and the Regional Coordination and Operations Centre (RCOC) in Seychelles. He added that coastal nations should develop their own NMSPOC to compliment these regional centres. MIMA as the national maritime policy think tank has presented NMSPOC at various foras. The maritime security community is gradually accepting the fact that they need to be more organised than organised crime. 

Figure 3: L to R, Mr. Shanaka (UNODC), RAdm Didier Maleterre, Joint Commander French Forces, Indian Ocean, Capt. Martin, VAdmn De Silva, Commander Sri Lanka Navy and RAdm David Proctor, Chief of New Zealand Navy

Figure 4: A Token of Appreciation from Sri Lanka

Figure 5: Left, Photo with the Director of the DKI Asia Pacific Centre for Security Studies (DKI APCSS), VAdm (R) Peter Gumataotao, US Navy and VAdm Aris Adi Tan from Malaysia. Right, with Director UNODC Global Maritime Crimes Programme (GMCP), Ms Siri Bjune and the Regional Director, Mr Shanaka

Capt. Martin took the opportunity to network with stakeholders on maritime security. The focus being to collaborate on the various capacity building and Best Practices programmes available for maritime security agencies. These efforts will enable agencies to calibrate their efforts together for a common cause.