Sri Lanka is located in a strategically significant place in the maritime lane between the Middle East and East Asia.
"Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognised maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with international maritime law".
The Navy said the rockets were fired "within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane" as the Truman and the other ships were passing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf.
In the heyday of unofficial maritime commerce, the winding lanes helped Skopelitan pirates evade capture and provided countless dark corners in which to stash the loot.
Another is about maritime security, particularly in the sea lanes through disputed territorial waters in what China calls its "near seas".
"The United States and Asean have a common responsibility to ensure the maritime safety of critical global sea lanes and ports," Kerry told Asean foreign ministers, including those from claimant states Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, on the sidelines of an annual regional security forum held in Burma.
As well as maintaining its training program, No. 1 OTU was required to periodically release instructors, students and aircraft for maritime patrols to protect Australian shipping lanes.
Then, 11 years ago, the maritime industry there moved one key shipping lane and agreed to have ships enter and exit ports at slower speeds which was especially effective, Clapham says.
"This is in the interest of supporting our overall maritime awareness and safety of navigation in sea lanes of communication".
The flotilla's mission was to monitor the maritime traffic in the region, safeguard the sea lanes and, if necessary, board and capture terrorists -- a mission the United States Central Command calls "leadership interdiction".
