Visiting Faculty, Mumbai University School of International Relations and Strategic Studies (SIRSS)
https://lnkd.in/dZef_ucY Why Connectivity and Critical Infrastructure Protection must redefine the Maritime Agenda by Christian Bueger 11 Jun 2024 Essential international infrastructures run over the seabed. Countries must update their protection agenda to preserve their integrity. When security at sea is discussed, the focus is most often on the surface. Ensuring freedom of navigation while maintaining safety and environmental standards are seen as the key problems. Armed attacks on shipping, by pirates, and other non-state actors are the threats that are often prioritized by naval strategists. Indeed, most multi-national naval missions and international capacity-building efforts today are directed at this surface challenge. Yet, in this brief essay I argue that the sea is a multi-dimensional space that goes beyond surface. In particular, the essay elucidates how the sea is composed of the crucial subsea and the seabed –where important infrastructures are installed –, closely linked to airspace, but also increasingly to the low orbit since satellites have become vital in navigation and remote sensing. The digital revolution in maritime transport, moreover, implies that the sea today is also closely interwoven with cyber space. As a result of such a complexity, the essay suggests that understanding the entanglements of these domains is essential in crafting maritime security strategy today.