Contemporary Transnational Challenges: International Maritime Connectivities

Ravi Vohra, P K Ghosh & Devbrat Chakraborty

The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions. The world's earliest civilisations in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, the Indian subcontinent, Persia and later in Southeast Asia, all developed around the Indian Ocean. Today, its littorals and hinterland comprise more than fifty nation-states and two-thirds of the world's known reserves of strategic raw materials while an estimated 40 per cent of the world's offshore oil production comes from it. The Indian Ocean is appropriately called Ratnakara in ancient Sanskrit literature, which means, the creator of jewellery.

The contemporary maritime scenario is tempered, on the one hand, by regional geo-strategic interaction and imperatives and, on the other, by the now omnipresent forces of globalisation. It is within these extra-oceanic environmental parameters that the maritime security forces of the region have to operate.

All maritime forces have to deal with some very distinct and localised challenges. These inter alia include transnational maritime threats as also the management of large maritime zones with limited security resources.

To overcome these challenges there is clearly a need to synergise security efforts by adopting cooperative security strategies on a region-wide basis. Yet, in the Indian Ocean, a regional security architecture is lacking.

The seminar has attempted to examine all the said issues a priori and recommend suitable options for the region. The compilation of articles, and the recommendations flowing from the discussions, should provide sufficient basis for future dialogue and charting the way ahead!

Ravi Vohra, P K Ghosh & Devbrat Chakraborty Editors: Admiral Ravi Vohra had a distinguished career in the Indian Navy including Command of ships and a diplomatic assignment as the Naval Attache in Bonn, Germany. As a Flag Officer he held the appointments of Flag Officer Offshore Defence Advisory Group and Assistant Controller of Warship Production and Acquisition. He is a keen student of International Relations and has written a paper on Confidence Building Measuresbetween India and Pakistan in the maritime scenario.

Captain PK Ghosh specializes in the fields of Maritime Security, Strategic Nuclear Triad, missile proliferation and Chinese Maritime Forces. He is one of the very few serious researchers in the region who has worked on the Ballistic Missile Defence Shield (BMDS). He has numerous papers and books to his credit.

Commander D Chakraborty is currently attached with National Maritime Foundation (NMF), New Delhi. His areas of interest are Marine Navigation and Operations, India's External Trade, International Trade Logistics, Maritime Transportation.

Contents

1. The Geo-Strategic Scenario in the Indian Ocean Region
2. Globalisation and its Impact on Maritime Trade
3. Maritime-related Terrorism and Crime: A Watchlist for the Indian Ocean Region
4. Management of Large Maritime Zones for Resource-Constrained Maritime States
5. Harnessing Technology for Maritime Cooperation
6. Managing International Shipping
7. The 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention: The Need for Change
8. Maritime Capacity Enhancement: The Case of the Gulf States and Beyond
9. Operationalising Regional Maritime Cooperation Towards Ensuring Collective Maritime Security for the Indian Ocean
10. Commonality of Maritime Challenges and Options for a Cooperative IOR Maritime Security Structure