A network maritime security approach to intelligence sharing in the IOR

ABSTRACT

The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become an area of critical strategic interest. It is also a region that contains a range of serious and evolving non-traditional security problems, including the problem of maritime terrorism. As a result, many IOR states have called for stronger pan-regional intelligence collaboration to assist in risk mitigation against such violent and destabilizing threats. This article explores the challenges involved in establishing an effective intelligence exchange network in a region characterized by mistrust, diversity and a lack of established security priorities and protocols. Building upon the success of the IOR’s joint counter-piracy operations, it will argue that a less burdensome network-based approach is needed that can concentrate on issue-specific competencies and commonalties among states. In particular, while not without limitations, a more loosely coordinated and informal network governance approach can enhance opportunities to improve information-sharing to address common maritime security challenges, such as maritime terrorism, among IOR and extra-regional states.

KEYWORDS:

• Intelligence co-operation
• maritime security
• network analysis
• Indo-Pacific
• counter-terrorism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Dr Jamal Barnes is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Centre for Global Issues, School of Arts and Humanities at Edith Cowan University. His research interests include international security, human rights, international relations theory and the issue of torture. He is the author of A genealogy of the torture taboo (Routledge 2017).

Dr Daniel Baldino is a political scientist specialising in Australian foreign relations, intelligence studies and defense and security policy including counter-terrorism at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle. He has produced numerous books and articles. His edited book (with A. Langlois and A. Carr) Controversies in Australian foreign policy: The core debates, published by Oxford University Press, was the winner of the Australian Institute of International Affairs' inaugural publication grant. His most recent book (with Crawley, R) is Intelligence and the function of government, published by Melbourne University Press. He is also currently the Western Australian chapter convener for Australian Institute for Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO).

Notes

1. This can be seen clearly with the spillover of the Yemen civil war into the Western Indian Ocean. See Bell and Lawellin (2017, p. 13).

2. States include: “Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, UAE, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen” and South Africa and Mozambique. See: http://oceansbeyondpiracy.org/matrix/djibouti-code-conduct.

3. The Code of Conduct has “4 thematic broad pillars: delivering national and regional training, enhancing national legislation, information sharing and building counter piracy capacity” (IMO, 2014–2015, p. 2)

4. For example, after 2012, there were no successful pirate attacks until the beginning of 2017. See Oceans Beyond Piracy (n.d.-b).

5. However, there is tension between different international legal regimes regarding piracy. See Struett, Nance, & Diane Armstrong (2013).