Security Dimensions of Ocean Governance

Abstract

One would suppose that spending 36 percent of the entire world’s military budget would keep a nation secure from a missile attack on its iconic symbols of commercial and military power; but one would be wrong. On 11 September 2001, nineteen young men, all but four being citizens of one of its trusted allies, armed only with dollar-store utility knives and dysfunctional ideology, did just that; turning four commercial airliners into guided weapons, killing almost 3,000 people, and triggering events which no one could have foreseen. This is not to say that military expenditure is a waste—far from it—but it is a vivid reminder that security is not just a problem for military, police and intelligence professionals. Security is not the same as defense; that is, the capability to resist an attack. Rather, security is a state of being; confidence in freedom from danger or fear. Defense is part of the security equation and is, indeed, primarily a military and constabulary issue, but security is a broader, collective responsibility. What, then, is the place of maritime defense forces—navies—in ocean governance? What are the security roles of the ocean and coastal governance community?