In September 2015, two significant announcements relating to ocean economy were made. The Indian Ocean Rim Associations (IORA) hosted the first IORA Ministerial Blue Economy Conference titled “Enhancing Blue Economy Cooperation for Sustainable Development in the IORA Region” in Mauritius and identified four priority areas (a) Fisheries & Aquaculture; (b) Renewable Ocean Energy; (c) Seaports […]
The world has moved on from Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to a new era where the ‘2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’ will now drive global development. The world leaders finally adopted a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with 169 targets at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015. In these […]
After being elected for the fourth term as Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe chose India as his first destination for a foreign visit. He met the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on September 2015; and among other issues, they discussed fishing dispute between the two countries. It is well known that Indian […]
In July 2015, at the 18th Plenary Session, the Contact Group on Piracy off the coast of Somalia (CGPCS) accepted the Government of Seychelles offer to take over the Chairmanship of the CGPCS for the year 2016 from the European Union. It acknowledged Seychelles proactive engagement in international efforts to fight Somali piracy. Earlier this […]
During his visit to India in early September 2015, the Australian Defence Minister, Kevin Andrews acknowledged India’s critical role in supporting security, stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean Region. He also stressed that there exists a larger scope for enhanced cooperation on global issues with India as a strategic partner. The Defence Minister also […]
‘Indo-Pacific’ is a relatively new and evolving concept, whose usage in foreign policy and strategic articulations has gained much currency in the recent past. The ‘rise’ of Asia— particularly China and India—have made the concept highly relevant, in both geo- strategic and economic terms. For much of the twentieth century, the concept of the ‘Indo-Pacific’—initially […]
The Indian Ocean has immense potential in providing sustainable livelihood and economic development to its littoral countries. Exploring marine resources for economic development while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities has now come to be known as Blue Economy. There are many initiatives that have been taken up so far, since the evolution of […]
Earlier this month, during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) and Foreign Ministers’ Meetings of the East Asia Summit (EAS) meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi elaborated on China’s position on the South China Sea and assured that his country endorses and upholds international norms for unimpeded maritime transit by global […]
The Security Environment in East Asia The East China Sea dispute presents a major challenge for the US-Japan alliance. This dispute is over the Senkaku (Diayou in Chinese) Islands, a group of five islands in the East China Sea that are uninhabited and currently controlled by Japan, but contested by the People‟s Republic of China […]
The International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) initiatives to ensure physical safety and security of maritime infrastructure have proven successful and a number of regulatory mechanisms are in place to ensure safe and secure commerce. The IMO is now developing guidelines against cyber-attacks on the maritime infrastructure. At the 94th session of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) […]
A humanitarian crisis in the Bay of Bengal has attracted international attention; over 4,000 Rohingya migrants, also referred to as the ‘boat people’, embarked on rickety vessels have been sighted or intercepted by the maritime security forces of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand. Many more may still be at sea and their handlers are waiting […]
World Ocean Day (WOD), celebrated on 08 June every year, brings an opportunity to raise global awareness of the impacts of human actions on the ocean, and to mobilize support for sustainable global ocean management. It was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil […]