Securing The Seas

This book is the effort of experts brought together by the Atlantic Council to analyze the capabilities of the Western Alliance to defend sea lines of communication under various conditions of peace, tension, and war. It reviews the way in which Soviet naval forces have been used in the Alliance.

Exploring everything from contemporary challenges to ocean security this book offers detailed insights into the increasing activities of state and non-state actors at sea. Chapters revisit the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC), highlighting how not all maritime security threats can be addressed by this, and further looking at the ways in which the LOSC may even hinder maritime security.

Maritime security is of vital importance to the South China Sea, a critical sea route for maritime transport of East Asian countries including China. The adjacent countries have rendered overlapping territorial and/or maritime claims in the South China Sea which complicate the situation of maintaining maritime security and developing regional cooperation there. This book focuses on contemporary maritime security in the South China Sea as well as its connected sea area, the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. It identifies and examines selected security issues concerning the safety of navigation, crackdown on transnational crimes including sea piracy and maritime terrorism, and conflict prevention and resolution. In the context of non-traditional security, issues such as maritime environmental security and search and rescue at sea are included. The book explores ways and means of international cooperation in dealing with these maritime security issues.

Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea examines the rights and duties of states across a broad spectrum of maritime security threats. It provides comprehensive coverage of the different dimensions of maritime security in order to assess how responses to maritime security concerns are, and should be, shaping the law of the sea. The discussion canvasses passage of military vessels and military activities at sea, law enforcement activities across the different maritime zones, information sharing and intelligence gathering, as well as armed conflict and naval warfare. In doing so, this book not only addresses traditional security concerns for naval power but also examines responses to contemporary maritime security threats, such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, piracy, drug-trafficking, environmental damage and illegal fishing. While the protection of sovereignty and national interests remain fundamental to maritime security and the law of the sea, there is increasing acceptance of a common interest that exists among states when seeking to respond to a variety of modern maritime security threats. It is argued that security interests should be given greater scope in our understanding of the law of the sea in light of the changing dynamics of exclusive and inclusive claims to ocean use. More flexibility may be required in the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea if appropriate responses to ensure maritime security are to be allowed.

This volume brings together international experts to provide fresh perspectives on geopolitical concerns in the South China Sea. The book considers the interests and security strategies of each of the nations with a claim to ownership and jurisdiction in the Sea. Examining contexts including the region’s natural resources and China’s behaviour, the book also assesses the motivations and approaches of other states in Asia and further afield. This is an accessible, even-handed and comprehensive examination of current and future rivalries and challenges in one of the most strategically important and militarized maritime regions of the world.

First published in 2007, this book focuses on the security of sea lanes of communication. It was a joint publication between the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA) and the Indian Ocean Research Group (IORG) and is an important book for three particular reasons. First, it takes a step forward in identifying key policy themes that can be applied to interstate cooperation around the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Second, the particular theme discussed is not only central to the economic well-being of Indian Ocean countries, but also to many of the world’s most important trading states, and finally the various discussions within the book raise a host of issues to which regional as well as non-regional policy-makers should give serious consideration.

Maritime security covers many issues including disputes over ownership of the continental shelf and of the boundaries of Exclusive Economic Zones, as well as protecting citizens from ballistic missile attacks using sea-based platforms and the introduction of non-native marine species to new aquatic habitats. Loss of key habitats and species may harm tourism and the wider economy while illegal fishing and smuggling often degrade the maritime environment. Nor should we forget that the sea is a favoured means of transit for trans-national terrorist and criminal groups, and smuggling of drugs, people and weapons remains a perennial concern for governments and their agencies trying to police the seas. Even today, however, the threat of conventional naval warfare has not receded entirely: rivalries over the ownership of the continental shelf, in areas such as the Spratley and Paracel Islands and the Lomonosov Ridge, could well be the harbinger of future conflict. Securing access to an ever-dwindling source of oil and gas may also threaten conflict on a worldwide basis as navies confront each other to secure economically vital sea lanes of communications in a time when energy security concerns are high on political the political agenda. Sloggett's book deals with this fascinating range of issues in a comprehensive manner also provides a blueprint for the development of maritime security, an integrated solution based around creating accurate and timely maritime domain awareness and sharing this with both military and commercial users of the sea.

The Dover Patrol, which brought together an assortment of vessels ranging from the modern to the antique and included cruisers, monitors, destroyers, trawlers, drifters, yachts and airships, was commanded by a series of radical and polarizing personalities and increasingly manned by citizen volunteers. Between 1914 and 1918 the men of the Patrol sought to shut down German access to the Atlantic via the narrows of the English Channel, with the goal of preventing German bound trade going in and U-boats, commerce raiders and warships going out. Their story has rarely been told, but it was the longest, and probably the most arduous, continuous naval campaign of the war, demanding much sacrifice of ships and men. Using firsthand accounts of the participants, the book examines the wide-ranging exploits of the Dover Patrol from shore bombardment, barrage building and maintenance, antisubmarine work and escort duties to the protection of troops and supplies to the Western Front and ship-to-ship engagements with German forces. It also charts the infighting at the Admiralty which led to two changes of command and examines the personalities of the men involved. The author paints a vivid picture of a vital and little known part of the war at sea, bringing its exploits and challenges to life and culminating with the infamous Zeebrugge and Ostend raids. An important new book.