Diners’ Club Session at Army War College Featured an Impressive Speech

The Army War College conducted a notable Diners’ Club session on 17 July 2025, featuring an impressive speech by the Flag Officer Commanding Naval Fleet – Naval Dockyard, Trincomalee, Rear Admiral Rohan Joseph RSP USP NWC psc MCPS BSc in Defence, whose academic and professional credentials have made significant contributions to the strategic thought on the landscape of the Indian Ocean.

The speech, titled ‘The Great Power Competition in the Indian Ocean and its Impact on Small Island States in the Indian Ocean’, captivated an audience of 125 officers who are following the Senior Command Course - 14, Junior Command Course - 33, and Junior Staff Course -29 together with the Commandant, Deputy Commandant and the members of the faculty and the permanent staff.

The participants encompassed 119 student officers from the Sri Lanka Army, one student officer each from the Sri Lanka Navy and the Sri Lanka Air Force, and four foreign student officers representing friendly foreign countries of Australia, Bangladesh, Maldives and Pakistan. The guest speaker highlighted how this power contest significantly affects smaller states, especially island nations like Sri Lanka, which often find themselves navigating a delicate balance between competing strategic interests. He stressed the importance of maintaining strategic autonomy, enhancing maritime domain awareness, and strengthening regional partnerships.

The Diners’ Club; a recurring sessions at the Army War College, consistently provides opportunities for professional development and intellectual stimulation within the student community. This Diners’ Club speech in particular, not only helped foster interdisciplinary discussions and collaboration in terms of bringing together individuals from diverse backgrounds but also provided intellectual platforms for sharing knowledge, experience and ideas that promote informal learning and exploring into new perspectives of innovative thinking as a key event in the War College calendar.

Towards the end of the Diners’ Club speech, Major General P S Subath Sanjeewa RSP nps psc, the Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army War College, expressed the gratitude to the Guest Speaker for his dedication and commitment displayed taking the students towards a new horizon with advanced knowledge and presented a memento as a token of appreciation.