The damage caused to a Greek-operated tanker by a sea-mine at a Saudi Arabian terminal on the Red Sea brings back haunting memories of the Iran-Iraq ‘tanker war’, which saw the unrestricted use of mines as a highly cost effective weapon to paralyse shipping in the Persian Gulf
Abstract A country’s coastline is the epicentre of its business, commerce, transportation, and industry. It provides a majority of the global ecosystem goods and services that are central to the country’s socio-cultural and economic development. Hence, the threat posed to coastal cities by a rise in the sea level caused by climate change is both, […]
The preceding segment of this two-part article had set the context within which three important legal questions needed to be explored: (1) Do IRGCN gunboats classify as warships? (2) Do their harassment-actions constitute a level of ‘use of force’ that triggers the right of self-defence of US warships? (3) Is the ‘100-metre rule’ valid in […]
The US’ Secretary of the Navy’s announcement about the re-establishment of the First Fleet in Southeast Asia assumes significance in the wake of China’s assertive actions across the Indo-Pacific, especially the South China Sea.
The following paragraphs constitute the first of a two-part article that seeks to analyse the sea-going forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), considered by some to a legitimate, albeit parallel, ‘navy’ of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and by others, particularly by Government of the USA, as nothing more than a ‘foreign terrorist […]
Russia’s plan of establishing a naval logistics base in Sudan is indicative of its re-entry into the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). Though statements refer to the base as a defensive measure with the aim of maintaining peace and stability in the region, the presence of Russian maritime assets in the northern area of IOR could complicate relations, especially after […]
Japan and South Korea are two nation-states that have increasingly been assuming a constructive role in East Africa. Japan has, particularly, assisted African nations through a variety of initiatives that have considerably raised the profile of its development assistance programmes, most pertinently pushed through by the Official Development Assistance (ODA). The Republic of Korea, on […]
The 2020 edition (the 24th in the series) of the combined naval exercise MALABAR has finally been restored to its expanded format involving combat platforms and personnel drawn from the navies of all four members of the Quad. Quite apart from the renewed invitation-to and acceptance-by the Royal Australian Navy — after a gap of […]
Israel’s purchase of six Sa’ar corvettes from Germany, to protect its offshore natural gas infrastructure, indicates a shift in its maritime security doctrine. These ships will enhance the ability of the staying power, hence the presence of the Israeli Navy at sea, and its growth as a maritime player in the Eastern Mediterranean. In Bangladesh, […]
The success of Turkish built, Azerbaijani operated armed drones against Armenian tanks in the ongoing conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh could evoke an interest in these armed platforms, thereby increasing Turkey’s military exports. While India, an operator of unarmed surveillance drones, is biding its time in purchasing armed drones from the US, Australia, India’s QUAD partner, is […]
This article constitutes the third part of an ongoing series relating to a comprehensive research-project, being undertaken by the National Maritime Foundation (NMF), on the impacts of climate change on India’s holistic maritime security. The first two parts of the series, which may readily be accessed on the NMF’s website, had focused, respectively, on the […]
The storming of a UK-bound oil tanker in the English Channel by British special forces, to subdue its takeover by stowaways from Africa, raises a new challenge to global maritime security. It combines maritime security aspects of hijacking, immigration and asylum. The threat of violence and maritime terrorism by stowaways or refugees could further obfuscate […]