Air Power in the Context of Regional Security and Defense:

“Extending a smart air power approach in South Asia”

Asanga Abeyagoonasekera &

Co-author Piyumani Ranasinghe

Institute of National Security Studies Sri Lanka (INSSSL)

• Air Power in an IR context.

1. Linking Airpower and Regional Security.

2. Implications for a smart security approach in the region.

• Extending a Smart Air power approach in South Asia:

1. Exporting competence in countering terrorism in the regional platform.

2. Sri Lanka as a humanitarian hub.

3. Introduce space security, as the fourth dimension in extending Air power.

Overview

• The “ability of a nation to project military force by or from a platform in the third dimension above the surface of the earth.”

Doctrine of the Indian Air Force, Air HQ New Delhi, 1995, (amended 1997), p. 28.

Air Power in an IR Context:

• Means of exerting a nation’s will though the medium of air.

• Wider understanding: an arena of both hard and soft power capabilities at the hand of a nation’s will.

• Unique advantage: control of air translates into power over land and water.

• Conventionally understood to be an offensive military tool.

• Air Power: relational phenomenon- should be understood in relation to the terrain and the seas.

• Regional Security : also a relational phenomenon.

• “One cannot understand the security of any given state without understanding the international pattern of security interdependence in which it is embedded in.”

Linking Air Power and Regional Security

• Rise of non-traditional security issues such as Environmental hazards, cyber insecurity etc.

• Conventional definition of air power obsolete.

• Post- IS age: Enemy is no more an intruder!

• Incentives for Sri Lanka’s Smart Presence in the region.

Implications for a Smart Security Approach in the region?

"THE PEREFCT

MIX"

LAND

SEAAIR

Exporting Competence :Counter Terrorism & The Perfect Mix

Exportation of in-house expertise in countering terrorism.A perfect mix of land, air and sea over thirty years accredited the military with a capital of knowledge and experience which only a handful of countries can boast of.

• Apprehending the terrain to suit the requirements of the collision.

• Military organization Land oriented.

• “But, the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) played a key role as a supportive actor” in the battle against the known-unknown. (Squadron Leader KSUC Ranasinghe, 2015)

• SLAF acclaimed unprecedented eminence in the air power employment of Counter Insurgency warfare (COIN). (Nirosha Mendis, 2013)

• Air Power Debate during Desert Storm: Gradualist, supportive role V. Dominant role that the military technical revolution (MTR) had made possible. (Edward C. Mann III, COL, USAF, 1995)

• “US Air power was seen as invincible against any geography until the soldier’s boots hit the ground to work with Iraqi people to establish a democratic system of governance which became a nightmare. Following the collapse of the state what we could witness today is a sectarian carnage with many lives lost.”

• SLAF as an :

1. Informative platform in diffusing its wealth of knowledge in countering terrorism to the South Asian stage.

2. Ability to enhance the air power capabilities & mitigate the potential threats that can stem from an imbalance of regional powers in South Asia via collaboration & sharing resources, technology and expertise with other nations .

Sri Lanka as a Regional Humanitarian Hub• Smaller air powers in the world have deferred from their

offensive flair and have restructured the strategic air power capabilities in order to suit more pressing peacetime requirements. Non-offensive. Ex: New Zealand

Ex: humanitarian assistance and relief in times of need

• Advantage- comprises unique characteristics such as height, speed and reach, operational efficiency harbored within the military discourse etc.

• Air Power in the Post-Cold war context:

1. Non-conventional conflicts (Somalia 1993;Haiti 1994; East Timor 2001; Libya 2011; Mali 2012)

2. Disaster relief operations (namely: 2004 Tsunami in Asia; 2008 Cyclone Nargis; 2009 Padang Earthquake; 2010 Pakistan Floods; 2011 East Japan Earthquake; 2014 Typhoon Haiyan)

• Sri Lanka’s Geopolitical significance – a logistical focal point in times of regional disasters and humanitarian catastrophes in South Asia and Asia.

• Sri Lankan government’s “Global hub concept”

• SLAF to pioneering an initiative in creating a humanitarian hub within the region.

– Ex: In 2021, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to be the first global logistics hub for distributing humanitarian aid in response to regional disasters and crises.

• SLAF – already a regional actor in SAR operations.

• Operational readiness and efficiency

• Correct and timely use

A maritime humanitarian hub

Geostrategic location of Sri Lanka, 9.5 km away from South Coast to the Sea Lines of Communications, the busiest international shipping lines.

Facilitate Search and Rescue (SAR) operations of vessels in distress situations due to ship wreck, fire, mechanical failure etc.

An airborne communication medium i

monitoring and coordinating humanitarian assistance with regard to refugees /event of manmade calamities such as oil spills.

The geographic location of the Indian Ocean nations renders the countries vulnerable to natural calamities such as seismic related Earthquakes and Tsunami. Sri Lanka as a humanitarian logistical hub in the focal point of the Indian Ocean is of substantial significance.

Recommendations

Air Power in to a Fourth Dimension- Introducing Space Security

• In the age of the 4th industrial revolution (industry 4.0), the concept of space security has gained substantial interest in the military arena all over the world.

• However, little attention is paid to the space security dimension in Sri Lanka in the present context.

• Societies are exceedingly reliant on space technology

– Ex: GPS navigation, weather forecasting, satellite television and even personal telephone calls.

– By 2016 almost 1,300 satellites orbit the earth, operated by 80 different countries and organisations, providing a wealth of services for billions of earth dwellers.

(Massimo Pellegrino and Gerald Stang, 2016)

South Asian Neighbors

East Asian Neighbors

Space Security in the Regional Framework

• Cyber security issues - weak space security infrastructure

• India is one among ten other nations in the global stage that have 29 governmental, 4 military and 3 civil and commercial operating satellites.

• Collaborative initiatives can mellow a wealth of benefits to the other regional counterparts in combating non-traditional security issues such as cyber threats and transnational terrorism.

• East Asian neighborhood-Japan and China

• Japan & USA

- Joint operations in terms of intelligence sharing

-Japan as a space security platform

Concluding thoughts• Air power in the current regional context

should extend in to smart power dimensions given the transformed security threats at the face of every nation.

• Security is a relational phenomenon in the current context.

• “The pain of one nation is the pain of another.”

• Vitality of a Smart air Power Approach in regional security and defense.

Thank You!

asangaaa@gmail.com