Maritime Cooperation In The Asia Pacific Region

Cooperation and Engagement in the Asia-Pacific Region provides valuable insight into a region that encompasses many important maritime regions, and harbors promising opportunities for maritime cooperation and engagement.

"The chapters in this monograph explore the strengths and weaknesses of existing processes of maritime cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. They reflect the desire and necessity to pursue the widening and deepening of existing cooperation and other maritime confidence- and security-building measures."--Abstract.

In the twenty-first century, the Indo-Pacific, which spans from the western Pacific Ocean to the western Indian Ocean along the eastern coast of Africa, has emerged as a crucial geostrategic region for trade, investment, energy supplies, cooperation, and competition. It presents complex maritime security challenges and interlocking economic interests that require the development of an overarching multilateral security framework. This volume develops common approaches by focusing on geopolitical challenges, transnational security concerns, and multilateral institution-building and cooperation. The chapters, written by a cross-section of practitioners, diplomats, policymakers, and scholars from the three major powers discussed (United States, China, India) explain the opportunities and risks in the Indo-Pacific region and identify specific naval measures needed to enhance maritime security in the region. Maritime Security in the Indo-Pacific opens by introducing the Indo-Pacific and outlining the roles of China, India, and the United States in various maritime issues in the region. It then focuses on the security challenges presented by maritime disputes, naval engagement, legal issues, sea lanes of communication, energy transport, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, as well as by nontraditional threats, such as piracy, terrorism, and weapons proliferation. It compares and contrasts the roles and perspectives of the key maritime powers, analyzing the need for multilateral cooperation to overcome the traditional and nontraditional challenges and security dilemma. This shows that, in spite of their different interests, capabilities, and priorities, Washington, Beijing and New Delhi can and do engage in cooperation to deal with transnational security challenges. Lastly, the book describes how to promote maritime cooperation by establishing or strengthening multilateral mechanisms and measures that would reduce the prospects for conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

This authoritative book brings together in a single volume international experts renowned in their specializations to discuss issues and current trends relating to maritime security.It looks at the issue of maritime security in the Asia-Pacific through a three step approach. Firstly, it surveys both the global maritime outlook and the outlook in each of the regions of Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. From these regional perspectives, trends in commercial shipping and force modernization, and issues like the weapons proliferation and maritime terrorism are discussed.After looking at the maritime environment, the specific challenges that the maritime community faces are examined. These challenges include maritime boundary and territorial disputes in the South China Sea, the force modernization of three Northeast Asian navies, and the spectre of maritime terrorism. The volume concludes by looking at some new initiatives for maritime cooperation, a survey of maritime “regime” building, and the legal and political implications of the proliferation security initiative.

This definitive volume assembles more than twenty leading Indo-Pacific maritime scholars and emerging experts to deliver fresh perspectives on maritime cooperation and security. Topics include naval activities, law of the sea, environmental protection, international cooperation, and sub-regional maritime agendas.

This book explores the most important strategic questions about the emerging Indo-Pacific region by offering an incisive analysis on the current and future patterns of competition and cooperation of key nations in the region. Examining emerging policies of cooperation and conflict adopted by Indo-Pacific states in response to a rising China, the book offers insights into the evolving Indo-Pacific visions and strategies being developed in Japan, India, Australia and the US in reaction to shifting geopolitical realities. The book provides evidence of geopolitical advances in what some see as a spatially coherent maritime zone stretching from the eastern Pacific to the western Indian Ocean, including small island states and countries that line its littoral. It also analyzes the development and operationalization of Indo-Pacific policies and strategies of various key nations. Contributors provide both macro and micro perspectives to this critically significant topic, offering insights into the grand strategies of great powers as well as case studies ranging from the Philippines to the Maldives to Kenya. The book suggests that new rivalries, shifting alliances and economic ebbs and flows in the Indo-Pacific will generate new geopolitical realities and shape much else beyond in the twenty-first century. A timely contribution to the rapidly expanding policy and scholarly discussions about what is likely to be the defining region for international politics for coming generations, the book will be of interest to policymakers as well as students and academics in the fields of International Relations, Foreign Policy, Security Studies, Diplomacy and International Law, East and South Asian Studies, East African Studies, Middle East Studies, and Australian Studies.