The Struggle for Atlantic Maritime Security and Safety:Lessons From Africa’s Maritime Security Governance

The enormous economic potentials of the blue/ocean economy have made the maritime domain increasingly susceptible to transnational organized crime and a theater for great power competition,particularly in the Atlantic maritime domain.The maritime security threats are more prevalent in the Atlantic African maritime domain than in other continents.These threats are becoming increasingly detrimental to the African security,safety,and human security,particularly in the coastal countries of the Atlantic Africa.Despite its increasing susceptibility to maritime security threats including great powers competition and the presence of non-Atlantic great powers more than in other maritime domains in Africa,the coastal countries of the Atlantic Sub-Saharan Africa(SSA)have managed to forge strategic inter-regional maritime security partnership that has relatively improved maritime security and safety in the region.There is a growing interest in forging inter-continental partnership of the coastal Atlantic states to collectively respond and address the shared maritime security threats in the entire Atlantic maritime domain.Yet,the way such a complex multilateral partnership would be structured and operationalized has not been worked out.This article assesses the economic potentials,susceptibility to maritime security threats,and level of response to maritime security threats by the coastal countries of the Atlantic SSA with the aim of identifying some lessons that could be relevant for forging the Atlantic inter-continental maritime security partnership.Some of these lessons include genuine partnership that is based on sovereign equality and inter-dependence,a code of conduct,cooperation,and coordination framework,and shared common value system of democratic governance.

Gulf Region and EU’s Maritime Security Strategy:The Expanding‘Blue Border’?

The European Union(EU)and its core member states are active participants and stakeholders in the security affairs of the Gulf region.European maritime security is not only an important extension of European security in geospatial and functional areas,but also an indispensable part of Europe’s overall security strategy.However,the attention to the EU’s maritime security was distracted before 2010,while the concern for European maritime security and the Gulf region was limited to safe transit routes through the international straits and archipelagic waters of the Gulf region.With the tension in Gulf was increased by oil tanker attacks,the role of EU and its core member states as major stakeholders in Gulf maritime security affairs has been more and more important.

A Security Model and Legal Guarantee for Chinese Maritime Shipping： As Exemplified in the Response to Piracy along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road

The Belt and Road Initiative is an important decision for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Maritime security has a significant place in this process. In recent years, there have been frequent violent terrorist incidents at sea, including piracy, armed hijackings and terrorist attacks, posing a dire threat to both international and Chinese maritime transport interests and seriously challenging the fulfillment of the maritime part of the ＂Belt and Road Initiative.＂ Five direct measures can be taken to protect ocean shipping from violence at sea. One example is the defensive measures taken against the Somali pirates. The employment of armed guards from professional security companies on board ship is an effective model for guaranteeing maritime security; it not only meets the standards of international law, but is also legally permitted in many developed countries and regions, and is thus strategically significant for overall Chinese maritime security. In the Chinese context, this model carries its own legal risks. We should embrace a new approach to national security law, strengthen legal guarantees and make concerted efforts to provide warship （military aircraft） escorts to jointly build an optimum model of Chinese maritime security in order to ensure the realization of core Chinese maritime interests.

Malaysia as the Crossing Point for Illicit Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons {：SALW） to Indonesia： Issues and Challenges

Indonesia, as the largest archipelagic state in the world, shares maritimeborders with many countries including Malaysia in the Straits of Malacca, the South China Sea and the Celebes Sea. Because of its geopolitical location these borders are very porous and, as a consequence, are highly difficult to monitor and control, making it vulnerable spots for illegal activities such as arms smuggling. This paper aims to examine the challenges faced by Indonesia and Malaysia in dealing with the main security border issues. The paper then concludes that Malaysia has become the main route for small arms illicit trafficking from other Southeast Asian countries to Indonesia＇s conflict areas. Indonesia and Malaysia face an enormous challenge, particularly in view of the recent happenings in conflict zones and the increasingly need to secure their common borders.

A Vital Maritime Pinch Point:China,the Bab al-Mandeb,and the Middle East

In 2013,Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the proposal of a“New Maritime Silk Road”in conjunction with China’s“Silk Road Economic Belt”project or“One Belt and One Road”(OBOR)initiative to support China’s growing economy and to expand the PRC’s economic influence and network across Eurasia on land and at sea.This article examines the Maritime Silk Road initiative and how it aligns with a larger Chinese maritime strategy to expand China’s maritime presence in the Indian Ocean and Middle East for economic,political,and security reasons.It also looks at how China might soon be well positioned to act as an additional stabilizing force for the broader Middle East.Through an in-depth case study,it will examine China’s increased presence and interest in the world’s most strategic chokepoints:the Bab al-Mandeb.China’s navy has been an important contributor to the Combined Task Force 150 counter-piracy exercises off the Horn of Africa and Arabian Sea and this might bode well for a larger footprint in Djibouti and into the Arabian Peninsula.Understanding China’s increased presence in Djibouti and at the Bab al-Mandeb,in addition to new and emerging regional economic and political partnerships with China,is vitally important for our understanding of future regional security and politics.

UAE-India-France Trilateral:A Mechanism to Advance Strategic Autonomy in the Indo-Pacific?

The geopolitical construct of the Indo-Pacific has evolved as one of the most important ones of the twenty-first century and more particularly of the last decade.While there is little or no consensus on where the Indo-Pacific Region(IPR)begins or ends,it has inadvertently become a space where new convergences,competitions and alignments have emerged.These developments are intrinsically linked with the ascent of China as a global power,the retreat of the American strategic footprint and the emergence of a multi-polar world order.Within the larger Indo-Pacific construct,the Western Indian Ocean region is a space of considerable geopolitical and maritime interactions between states.The United Arab Emirates(UAE)and India are both countries of the Western Indian Ocean region while France is a resident power of the region owing to the presence of two of its overseas departments-Mayotte and Reunion—and its inter services bases in the UAE and Djibouti.The three countries have considerable experience in operationalising bilateral as well as trilateral initiatives.The lack of such initiatives in the Western Indian Ocean region could therefore offer the opportunity for UAE,India and France to come together in a trilateral arrangement to further their strategic interests and uphold the concept of a‘free and open Indo-Pacific’.The paper seeks to explore whether a trilateral partnership between the UAE,India and France could contribute to furthering their respective strategic autonomy in the Indo-Pacific Region.The paper will also endeavour to examine the conflicts and differences that could be expected and the possible areas of convergence.