Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs: Maritime Capacity Building in the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstract

This volume is the published proceedings of a conference held by Mississippi State University in Starkville MS in 2009, examining the need for maritime capacity building to ensure maritime security.

Issues covered included: the political vulnerabilities of many states along the Indian Ocean littoral; the lack of an overarching, maritime security mechanism to protect chokepoints and shipping lanes; concerns that the United States will reduce its military presence in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean; concerns about how a rising China will use its strength in asserting itself in the major oceans; and that capacity building is necessary to protect the oil/gas resources from the Arabian Gulf.

Maritime capacity building is increasingly important to all nations in a global economy, but as these issues cannot be handled individually, but must be dealt with collectively. Importantly, maritime capacity comprises the institutional arrangements, legal frameworks and resources necessary for maritime security.