A high-stakes geopolitical battle is unfolding beneath the Indian Ocean as Sri Lanka risks losing control of a multi-billion-dollar cobalt reserve while authorities remain silent.
A growing geopolitical and economic crisis is unfolding over marine resource rights valued at more than $120 billion in the Indian Ocean, raising fears that Sri Lanka could lose control over the strategically important Afanasy Nikitin seabed mountain located south of the Hambantota coast.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Sri Lanka submitted a scientific claim in New York on May 8, 2009, seeking exclusive rights to marine resources in an extended ocean zone where no country had previously established ownership.
Through this submission, Sri Lanka asserted its entitlement to a vast resource-rich area in the Bay of Bengal, extending nearly 800 nautical miles, positioning itself for a major economic opportunity linked to deep-sea mining and offshore resources.
Significant deposits of cobalt, a highly valuable mineral, have been identified on the Afanasy Nikitin seabed mountain, situated approximately 3,000 meters beneath the ocean surface in this contested maritime zone.
Cobalt plays a critical role in modern industries, including the production of batteries, mobile phones, laptops, and electric vehicles, with current estimates valuing the deposit at $120 billion and projections suggesting it could reach $1 trillion with advanced extraction technologies.
A special committee appointed in 2018 reviewed Sri Lanka’s claim over a six-year period, and the country was widely expected to secure approval for these rights by the end of 2022, marking a potential economic breakthrough.
However, India, which extended financial assistance of $4 billion to Sri Lanka during its 2022 economic crisis, formally objected to Sri Lanka’s maritime claim at the United Nations in November of the same year, complicating the approval process.
Despite the immense economic and strategic importance of this cobalt resource, there is increasing criticism that key Sri Lankan institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Minerals and Resources, and the Ministry of Finance, have shown little visible action or urgency in defending the country’s interests.
