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Sri Lanka Army

Defender of the Nation

08th December 2021 17:39:01 Hours

" Army Maintains More Refined, Objective- Oriented & Timely Battle -Preparedness on Contingencies More than Ever"- Army Chief Tells DSCSC Undergraduates

" Sri Lanka Army is maintaining the highest level of battle-preparedness on contingencies while introducing various training modules and exercises that are more refined, objective- oriented, and timely. Equally, necessary measures are now in place to face any security challenge in our best capacity, incorporating most modern warfare techniques and based on our own experiences, gained during the three-decade-long conflict with the LTTE. Remember, be it in war or peace, a soldier is always prepared to face seemingly undefeatable challenges because it is increasingly becoming evident that modern adversaries are unorthodox, less-kinetic, less visible, yet devastatingly dangerous. The20th-century conventional war-fighting between states has been replaced by conflicts within states with roots and spillover effects to other countries worldwide. Military pressure has been replaced with economic, diplomatic and psychological pressures, which are more challenging to fight. Ideology and narrative-based conflicts have become more prominent, and complex to intervene. Interests of modern-day adversaries are achieved with more complex ways, means, and instruments of power rather than traditional weapons and men, " so said General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army this morning (8) when he delivered the customary 'Commander's Lecture' to both local and foreign undergraduates following 'psc' (passed staff college) Course No-15 at the Defence Services Command and Staff College (DSCSC) at Sapugaskanda.

Speaking on the theme, 'Role of Armed Forces in the Contemporary Security Landscape', the Army Chief claimed that today's multifaceted and complex security challenges demand more systematic, comprehensive and interwoven approaches and lines of operations rather than mere direct use of military force. "It is conventional wisdom that the security landscape is ever changing and cannot be framed into a few apparent determinants. Therefore, we need to understand that we cannot merely win the next crisis with yesterday's experience. The best example I can give you is COVID 19 Pandemic; have we ever thought three years ago that a tiny virus would surpass all conventional security dimensions? " he queried.

The DSCSC at Sapugaskanda, the internationally reputed academic seat of learning for tri services in Sri Lanka laid a red carpet welcome to the day's Chief Guest, General Shavendra Silva after he was saluted in a Guard Turnout at the entrance. The DSCSC Commandant, Major General Nishantha Herath, Senior Directing Staff members and both local and foreign DSCSC undergraduates of the Course No-15 welcomed him warmly and ushered to the main auditorium.

The DSCSC Course No-15 is comprised of 146 undergraduates, including 18 foreigners from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Rwanda, the Maldives, Indonesia, Nepal, USA, Senegal and Saudi Arabia. Similarly, Officers from the Army (76), Navy (25) and Air Force (26) are following the same Course which qualifies them to obtain the 'psc' qualification for their career.

Major General Nishantha Herath , DSCSC Commandant after a warm welcome introduced the day's lecturer to the audience at the DSCSC and at the end of the lecture, followed by question-answer session, the Commandant extended the gratitude of all undergraduates by awarding a memento to General Shavendra Silva. Prior to his departure, the Chief Guest also left a few complimentary remarks in the DSCSC Visitors' Book.

Continuing his address to the DSCSC undergraduates, he went on saying: " We need to remember that there are many options available to adversaries rather than conventional methods we are mostly ready. Extremist groups today have unprecedented access to the general public which allows for more efficient and effective recruitment, incitement, propaganda, and the purchase of weapons and unregulated money transfers. If we are not compatible to cooperate with other instruments of national power for a united effort, we will leave irreversible gaps in our national security architecture in this extremely complex security landscape. “I believe unity is the tool that gives us the confidence to achieve the unachievable”. It was with this broader appreciation, the Sri Lanka Army 'Way Forward Strategy 2020 - 2025' was formulated."

"As a key to realise this comprehensive strategy, the military leaders need to have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how the country is governed and how the Way Forward Strategy 2020-2025 fits His Excellency the President and Government's 'Vistas for Prosperity and Splendour Agenda' and the role of Armed forces in it. Therefore, I believe our training needs to stimulate an objective oriented thinking habit that could understand the philosophy of today's security environment and the force structure and capability fitting to it. With the establishment of the 'Vistas for Prosperity and Splendour Agenda,' the armed forces of Sri Lanka have a concrete and attainable direction to draw strategic military objectives. We need to understand the approach to security and defence have changed and advanced so that it is feasible to keep pace with changing security dynamics. Now, it is imperative to review the priorities and focus on developing our armed forces intelligent, dedicated and responsive enough to deliver the desired effect at the grand strategic level," General Shavendra Silva remarked.

" In the recent past, the military was conducting missions that were particularly not pertaining to warfighting, and it will be the most probable case in the future too. Thus, our armed forces need to be fully trained, adequately resourced and empowered with necessary legal coverage for these different roles.In addition, the new strategy underpins the responsibility, accountability, and conformity with the international legal framework from the institutional level up to the execution level by utilising the armed forces for clearly defined and justified objectives," he added.

Enclosed below is the main context of the Army Chief's address:

"I consider it a great privilege and honour to stand here today at my alma mater to address you in the capacity of Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army. This prestigious institution is the nexus of wisdom where command, staff and instructor competencies are imparted on Tri-services Officers to hold bigger responsibilities in the organisation. Having said that, I pay my highest tribute to Defence Services Command and Staff College for shaping me to be who I am today.

At the onset, let me remind you that you are completing one of the most important benchmarks of the career of an Officer. Therefore, it is up to you to thrive from here, taking the learning and moulding from this institution as multipliers of your personality, professionalism and way of thinking.

I wish to make a special note on the student officers from our friendly foreign countries. The participation of international students adds colour and quality to the course as it avails the student officers the opportunity to experience how the situation could be seen in different perceptions based on different cultural, educational, doctrinal and personal variances. I am sure that you have improved your theoretical, tactical, technical and conceptual knowledge during the course.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Now, let me embark on our topic, the "Role of Armed Forces in the Contemporary Security Landscape."

It is conventional wisdom that the security landscape is ever- changing and cannot be framed into a few apparent determinants. Therefore, we need to understand that we cannot merely win the next crisis with yesterday's experience. The best example I can give you is COVID 19 Pandemic; have we ever thought before three years ago that a tiny virus would surpass all conventional security dimensions and hold the entire world on a standstill?

It is increasingly becoming evident that modern adversaries are unorthodox, less-kinetic, less visible yet devastatingly dangerous. The 20th-century conventional warfighting between states has been replaced by conflicts within states with roots and spillover effects to other countries worldwide. Military pressure have been replaced with economic, diplomatic and psychological pressures, which are more challenging to fight. Ideology and narrative-based conflicts have become more prominent, and complex to intervene. Interests of modern-day adversaries are achieved with more complex ways, means, and instruments of power rather than traditional weapons and men.

The environment and natural disasters have become increasingly frequent and catastrophic. These multifaceted and complex security challenges demand more systematic, comprehensive and interwoven approaches and lines of operations rather than mere direct use of military force.

Therefore, Armed Forces have happened to deal with more intricate military and non-military stakeholders. Consequently, the modern-day role of the Armed forces is expected to be highly professional, which is ready, relevant, reliable, resilient and respectable.

Warfare and conflict are as old as the existence of humankind. Even, the ways and means have evolved to be more civilised towards modernity, the prime reasons for warfare remain the trinity of power, pride and interest. Historically, the military has been the principal instrument of projecting power, preserving pride and pursuing the interests of any entity, whether it is a tribe, village, group, island, country or otherwise. Even though the legitimacy and humanity of military use remain questionable since then, the militaries have been the decisive instrument in state-craft where expansion, shrinkages, new demarcation and creation of new states were dictated over warfighting.

The human to instrument transition, the industrial revolution, and the thirst for new technologies added unprecedented concepts, doctrines, ways, and means to warfighting. In addition, the zero-sum realism incresed the lethality, brutality and devastation of military effort by the 20th century.

The two World Wars shifted the paradigm, giving enough indications for states to have the notion of credible, capable and sufficient armed forces with the prime role to defend nation boundaries, protect vital national resources, and safeguard people from state adversaries.

The Cold War added a new dimension to the alignment of forces; new state alliances began to form against potential adversaries. The world militaries began to adopt technologies, weapons, doctrines and concepts based on their alliance in the Cold War. In addition, the beginning of the United Nations, and subsequent collective effort to foster world peace, added a new paradigm to warfighting, which tried to canalise the warfighting into more legitimate, systematic and rational use of force.

The arms race between East and West and projecting the influence of power blocks through third, unorthodox or non-state actors proliferated an uncontrolled amount of weapons and technologies; consequently, many parties other than the states in the East were weaponised. Consequently, non-state actors within the state began to achieve their objectives through military means. Thus, the notion of 'Terror' became the predominant security threat to the entire world. This began the gradual shifting of interstate conflicts towards intrastate conflicts. Therefore, the shape of the armed forces inclined towards intervening in internal threats.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It has always been hard to know what is happening next in the ground; as the military theorist, Carl von Clausewitz wrote in "the fog of war" two centuries ago. However, modern conflict tends to haunt places that are even more inaccessible. Therefore, it is a very unwise and dangerous assumption to be comfortable with our capabilities when we won yesterday's war. Therefore, it is essential to stimulate our thinking to cover every possibility rather than depending on mere probability.

We need to study contemporary conflict if we are to overcome it. Therefore, constant awareness of the fine dynamism and understanding the big picture is the only way to design our force abreast of new challenges.

We need to remember that there are many options available to adversaries rather than conventional methods we are mostly ready. Extremist groups today have unprecedented access to the general public which allows for more efficient and effective recruitment, incitement, propaganda, and the purchase of weapons and unregulated money transfers.

The exploitation of the cyber domain has become one of the most effective ways of achieving the desired effects by the adversaries. This makes adversaries to reduce their signature, evade the traditional lines of defences and achieve their aim.

Even though being prepared for conflict is incredibly costly, being unprepared for the next conflict is devastating, despite its probability. We need to remember that there are many options available to adversaries rather than conventional methods we are mostly ready. Extremist groups today have unprecedented access to the general public which allows for more efficient and effective recruitment, incitement, propaganda, and the purchase of weapons and unregulated money transfers.

In addition, actors outside the conflict can significantly influence war, in both good and bad ways, usually for different gains than the face value of the conflict. Therefore, predicting the cause of conflict is harder since conflict actors invariably disguise their intentions.

The global security environment over the shifting of power balance and economic centre of gravity towards the Asia-Pacific region has created new security dimensions, especially to the developing countries. Often possible geostrategic traps are increasingly becoming complex to interpret.

Present-day security concerns have been substantially shaped by the separatism, extremism, and criminal activities around the globe, often waged through violence. The Easter Sunday Attack has left enduring security, political and social effects. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the military detection capability, preparedness, and deterrence to prevent the first incident.

In democratic societies, the size of the armed forces and defence budget demand reasonable justifications. Consequently, the armed forces have to be evolved with multifaceted capabilities and competencies underpinning the economy of military effort at modernity.

The realities of the modern-day security and operational environment shape, regulate and change the use of military force than ever before. I believe, even over the next few years, the world will experience an intricate, unstable, unpredictable, and dynamic security environment.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The nature of conflicts and the security environment changes with many controllable and uncontrollable factors. However, the fact remains that we need to change according to the environment if we need to survive.

The geostrategic location of itself absorbs multifaceted and an array of threats externally and internally that would undermine the national security architecture of Sri Lanka.

The dangerous ideology-based conflicts and violent extremisms, which usually are the spillover effects of conflicts overseas and the consequently inspired locals that fights for the oneness of the god considering nonbelievers as infidels, pose a substantial threat to our national security.

Another threat is transnational crimes or the hub of scandals over which a large number of illegal activities happen, focusing on the country. There is a possibility that western and eastern power blocks would engage in security competition or ideological war for dominance in the Indian Ocean Region, which would probably be waged over economic, diplomatic, proxy, or military means. This will potentially pose collateral yet substantial security threat to Sri Lanka in the time to come. Therefore, efforts to achieve complete national security over mere tactical operations and victory over a fraction of adversaries have no meaning.

Beyond traditional threats to security, fears have arisen in response to new but less visible dangers. These include potential problems derived from climate change, transnational crimes, cyber terrorism, and issues of uncertainty, economic stagnation and devastating pandemics. Demarcating the actual or perceived threat at modernity, traditional or non-traditional and drawing lines between these threats is cumbersome. Therefore, preparing for such an unpredictable eventuality requires very significant human, material and technological changes.

As the form of warfare evolves, adversaries are actively adjusting their ends, ways, and means with much more sophistication. In such conditions, we will not be able to be away from ground realities. As such, being the Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army, I always rely upon "the reliance on the likelihood of the enemy's or its failure should not be the cause for the preparedness of own forces".

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Sri Lankan military has a long led identity as the nation's saviour, because the military has intervened in every operational and non-operational emergency and brought back the country to normalcy. “We are proud that the citizens of Sri Lanka appreciate our sacrifices and contributions towards our motherland”. The people of Sri Lanka expects the military will be the ultimate saviour of their lives, properties, and interests in the time to come too. As an emerging country, it is now required to understand that the security paradigm has transformed and is ever-changing, but still, people's demand for a conducive security environment for the country's advancement remains the same.

Therefore, Sri Lankan military forces now cannot be expanded for singular threat, but it has to be developed to traverse over the entire spectrum of threats. Therefore, the concepts, doctrines, capabilities, and capacities we currently possess may not be adequate, and we need to readjust.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We need to understand a few critical questions today; what is the threat perception we should be prepared for? What level will the armed forces be utilised? Under what environment, freedom and restrictions will the armed forces be operating in time to come? Most importantly, what part of the conflict will the military be used as an instrument within the overall security architecture? This will guide the Armed Forces to predict who will fight, with whom they will fight, where they will fight, and what equipment they will have to possess.

In this regard, a rigid one size fitting force structure will be redundant. Therefore, a frequent revisit and validation of the perceived threats are vital to readjust the ways and means to achieve desired military ends. The modern force structure is required to be versatile to overarch the challenges across the gamut of conflicts to foster an enduring national security. As future operations seem to be launching mostly over cross-domain, the military needs to reflect as a capable body that can cooperate with other law enforcement agencies and line ministries.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In conclusion, Sri Lanka is presently leaping forward in a positive journey amidst numerous challenges originating in local and international contexts. The economic advancement, reduction of corruption, constructive engagement against alleged war crimes, revitalising the foreign policy towards win-win philosophy, promoting meaningful reconciliation, strengthening of National Security matrix, socio-economic development, recently erupted pandemic situation, and consequent economic retardation are the challenges now tabled before the Government.

It is widely understood that a multi-array of security challenges demands integrating all instruments of national power into a focussed effort. In this regard, there has to be a firm understanding of the strategic environment by the military leaders. Thus, officers today should try to acquire a more sophisticated understanding of the integration of all elements of national power and military contribution in the pursuit of national objectives. “The Sri Lanka Army is capable of developing and maintaining a prosperous and sustainable nation”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Soon you will be embarking on new appointments having the attribute of being passed staff college. Therefore, you are expected to have a better, clear and focused understanding of today's security context and the role envisioned by a commander, staff officer, or instructor. Here and after, you are expected to be highly dedicated, committed, and provide novel, creative, and innovative recommendations for complex military problems.

I take this opportunity to offer special thanks to the Commandant and all staff of the Defence Services Command and Staff College for their untiring efforts to uplift and maintain the standards of this esteemed training institution to the most conducive level for military education.

Last but not least, let me express my regards to student Officers from friendly foreign nations. I extend my best wishes to you all to excel in your future endeavours.

Let me once again with all of you the very best for the forthcoming graduation from Defence Services Command and Staff College. My blessings are always with you to reach the pinnacle of success in your military service in the years to come.

Thank you. "