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Sri Lanka Navy Journal 92

SRI LANKA NAVY ESSAY COMPETITION 2018 -LIEUTENANT COMMANDER & BELOW CATEGORY

TRANSNATIONAL CRIME IN THE IOR AND SRI LANKA’S
RESPONSE
Captain (SL Army) WASL Wickramasinghe

Introduction

eas and oceans are increasingly being understood to be drivers for the economy. Indian
Ocean nations are demonstrating interest in devising strategies to create sustainable
Sjobs and economic growth based on the sustainable use of the resources of the sea.
The Indian Ocean has enormous potential for harnessing economical resources. Fisheries,
offshore oil and gas, marine-based tourism and maritime industries are already making a
significant contribution to the economies. Contemporary global environment is driven by
economic and export led development. Globalization has enhanced the interdependencies
between nations and there is considerable concurrence amongst security analysts, that
though conventional conflict, if not a thing of the past, is extremely unlikely. So this
interdependence has resulted an increased transnational crimes in the Indian Ocean.

The spectrum of the topic is large. Because of that the topic, Transnational Crimes
in the Indian Ocean Region is discussed under few sub topics and few stages. The initial
part of the essay deals with the concept of Indian Ocean, transit routes of the region, their
geographical importance and main ports and Habours in the Indian Ocean Region. The
second part of the essay deals with what the transnational crime concept is and what are
the transnational crimes occurred in the Indian Ocean region. In the third stage the essay
addresses the role and response of Sri Lanka to avoid transnational crimes in the Indian
Ocean region. Finally the essay deals with the conclusion.

Indian Ocean Region

Indian Ocean Region covers diverse areas of rich ocean cover spreading over three
continents and serves as a major link for trade, investment and technology cooperation
between the littoral states. The countries in the Indian Ocean Region had very strong
civilizational linkages manifested in maritime trade, cultural exchanges, tourism and
pilgrimage, diplomatic relations and so on. Indian Ocean is a major sea route for the world
connecting India, China, Far East, East Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. The Indian
Ocean maritime system linked the lands bordering the Indian Ocean basin and the South
China Sea. When it comes to trade of the Indian Ocean region, trade took place in three
distinct regions. The first one is the South China Sea, dominated by Chinese and Malays
and the second one is Southeast Asia to the east coast of India, dominated by Malays and
Indians and the third one is the west coast of India to the Persian Gulf and East Africa,
dominated by Persians and Arabs.