Stronger regional alliances vital - Sir Jonathon Band

Rashomi SILVA

COLOMBO: United Kingdom's visiting First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Jonathon Band yesterday urged developing a stronger regional network and cooperation to face common challenges faced by the nations of world.

Sir Jonathan who is also the Chief of Navy Staff was speaking to group of Navy officers from the South Asian region who had completed a British funded course on International Humanitarian and Maritime law.

"All of us fight against terrorism and it is the same challenges we all face. These are the sort of challenges that we face now and are likely to represent an even greater challenge in the future," he said.

Stressing the importance of having a stable world order free from terrorism and lawlessness in today's globalised context, he said it was difficult for any country to stand alone and be self sufficient, "even for a developed nation like the UK".

An unstable and an insecure world afflicted with weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and piracy and other misdeeds could have a crippling impact on the global economy as a whole, he said.

"Globalisation is now a fundamental part of the way that we do business and its continued operation is absolutely vital to the economies of just about every country. Interrupt the free movement of products and raw materials as a result of regional conflict, terrorist attacks or conflicts over resources and the global economy will be hit hard," he added.

"So it is in all of our interests to work together as nations to strengthen international peace and stability with our Armed Forces alongside other agencies, collectively acting as a force for good around the world," Admiral Band said.

"We need an international system based on the rule of law which is better able to resolve disputes and prevent conflicts and we need to work together more closely to achieve effective and secure regional neighbourhoods," he said.

The week long course was designed to highlight the role of law and to emphasise the necessity of regional cooperation in campaign planning at the operational level for joint operations and multi- national peace keeping operations.