Maritime search and rescue operations of Sri Lanka: air diplomacy framework and way forward

Abstract

The term air diplomacy first came into the limelight in the first half of the 20th century amidst the advent of air power. Air diplomacy is the employment of air power elements in support of the foreign policy of a country. The study explored how an air diplomacy framework could be incorporated into the air strategy to strengthen Maritime Search and Rescue (MSAR) engagements in Sri Lanka, which in turn would benefit in bolstering the tangible and non-tangible capabilities of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF). The contemporary world has seen that regional/global air forces have been attempting to leverage air power in quest of protecting national interests and human capital beyond its seashores. However, it is observed that Sri Lanka has not been exploiting the air diplomacy to the fullest extent as done by other regional counterparts. The SLAF being the only air arm capable of providing aircraft assistance to air crash Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in Sri Lanka has a unique role to play whilst bearing a huge responsibility in aircraft Search and Rescue operations within the Colombo Search and Rescue Region (SRR). Thus, it is imperative to fill the critical gap between existing capabilities/capacities and structure of MSAR units within SLAF and integration with external maritime agencies locally/regionally to facilitate effective MSAR services within the SRR. Hence, the researcher has derived the conceptual framework on a par with the study objectives, which enables the finding of dependent and independent variables. This exploratory study resorts to the inductive approach and interpretivist research philosophy while conducted as a qualitative research. Eventually, the researcher developed an air diplomacy framework that could schematically be embedded into SLAF's air strategy. The study results indicated the development of a joint maritime-air architecture through an integrated system comprising all aerial and maritime stakeholders. Hence as a remedy smart, stretched refleeting of assets, formulation of joint/combined maritime-air command structure, multinational cooperation and conduct of joint training are recommended to address challenges pertaining to conducting effective and efficient MSAR operations in the future.