Sri Lanka's navy commander Jayanath Colombage said the island's position almost in the centre of the Indian Ocean gives it an advantage at a time when the region's geo-political significance was increasing.
He quoted the sayings of several strategic thinkers that the Indian Ocean would play a decisive role in the 21st century just like the Pacific and Atlantic oceans in the two previous centuries.
"This should be true when we see how much attention is being given to the Indian Ocean," he told the forum on Sri Lanka's ocean resources organized by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies.
"The future of our country lies in the ocean around us," Colombage declared.
This sentiment was echoed by Terney Pradeep Kumar, a scientist heading the Department of Oceanography