Maritime security governance in the Indian Ocean region

ABSTRACT

This paper considers arrangements for providing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) at both the national and regional levels. The main requirement at the regional level is a mechanism or mechanisms for cooperation on maritime security concerns both between regional countries themselves and between these countries and the extra-regional countries that have a legitimate interest in IOR maritime security. At a national level the necessary capacity for providing maritime security includes arrangements for coordination between the various agencies involved and the operational capabilities for maritime law enforcement to provide good order at sea. The paper discusses the relative attributes of a navy or a coast guard to provide these capabilities. It concludes with ideas about how maritime security governance in the IOR might be improved.

KEYWORDS:

• Oceans management
• maritime security governance
• naval cooperation
• coast guards
• regionalism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 The Port State Control (PSC) regime allows port states, as a condition of entry to their waters, the right to inspect vessels calling at ports under their jurisdiction to verify that the condition of the ship and its equipment comply with the requirements of international regulations and that the ship is manned and operated in compliance with these rules. The implementation of the regime in the IOR is discussed in Bateman (2012).

2 A map of global maritime search and rescue areas is available at: http://www.neptune-scuba.info/sarmap-en.html.

3 ‘Coast guard’ is a generic term to describe a para-military or civil force to conduct law enforcement at sea and possibly other services. They may have different names in different countries, for example, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, or Singapore Police Coast Guard. In Australia, the newly established Australian Border Force performs many of the roles of a coast guard.

4 The idea of a ‘national fleet’, as postulated by Gray (2001) for the United States, has relevance to all countries. Rather than each agency doing ‘its own thing’ with acquiring maritime capabilities, a ‘whole of government’ requirement for maritime capabilities would underpin subsequent decisions on how the capabilities are operated and by which agency.

5 In August 2015, in a first-time event, an Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel visited Vietnam and conducted search and rescue drills with the Vietnamese Coast Guard (Xinhua, 2015).

6 The IONS Members are Australia, Bangladesh, France, India, Indonesia, Iran, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom, and the Observers are China, Japan, Madagascar and Malaysia. IORA members are Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen with China, Egypt, France, Japan and the United Kingdom as dialogue partners.

7 Members of the SADC are Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Mauritius, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Seychelles.

8 Members of the GCC are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates

9 Members of the IOC are Comoros, France (for Reunion), Madagascar, Mauritius and Seychelles. The Maldives is an observer.

10 Members of SAARC are Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Observers are China, Japan, the EU, the Republic of Korea and Iran.

11 Members of BIMSTEC are Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.