Christian Bueger

Category Archives: Events and Presentations


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News from the Western Indian Ocean maritime security. A visit to SHADE

🌊 The maritime security architecture in the Western Indian Ocean has developed new pace since the emergence of Houthi attacks on commercial shipping and the resurgence of Somali piracy activities last year. This week I attended the naval coordination SHADE conference in Bahrain, where these critical developments took center stage.

SHADE in full work mode

🤝 SHADE serves as a vital interface between the complex network of multinational and independent naval forces and the shipping industry. The EU’s Operation Atalanta and the US led Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) co-host this forum which has evolved from its original focus on piracy to become a comprehensive annual dialogue.

📊 It has now upscaled activities and launched three working groups dedicated to intelligence, information sharing, and operations. The key objectives are to give better advice to shipping, improve flow of information, and develop better emergency response coordination, including oil spill prevention.

SHADE is working towards what it calls a ‘Single Information Environment’. This could streamline information flow across the six information sharing centers focused on the region. A corner piece is a center started in 2024 – the Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC) – which supports the CMF.

The European Union’s continued commitment

🇪🇺 The European Union continues to demonstrate strong commitment to regional maritime security. Operation Atalanta’s mandate has been renewed for two years, and its sister operation, Aspides, is expected to be extended until 2026.

There are expectations that the two EU operations will be merged soon. Anticipating this merger, the EU has rebranded its information sharing center. It now runs under the name of Maritime Security Center Indian Ocean (MSCIO), serves both operations and has a brand new website.

CMF and regional contributions

🌏 CMF, which is organized in different task forces and remains focused on nonstate threats on the high seas, has expanded its membership significantly, turning it into an important umbrella organization under US leadership.

🌏 Regional leadership in maritime security has also grown impressively: India has emerged as a pivotal maritime security provider; the Indian Ocean Commission’s two centers have become key operational pillars, coordinating responses among Eastern African states; and the Djibouti Code of Conduct (DCOC) has evolved into a more effective capacity building coordination mechanism.

⚓ As I highlighted in my presentation: Though this new momentum is encouraging, maritime security threats persist, and shipping attacks continue to pose challenges. Success requires sustained engagement and investment with a long-term perspective.


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On tour – Upcoming talks on maritime security

📢 Exciting News: Upcoming Talks on Maritime Security and Book Launch! 📚🌊

I’m thrilled to announce a series of talks I’ll be giving on maritime security as part of the launch of our new book, “Understanding Maritime Security.” Here’s where you can catch me in the coming weeks:

🇺🇸 28.10. – The Future of Maritime Security, book presentation, U.S. Naval War College, Newport
🇺🇸 29.10. – ‘Shadow Fleets and Critical Infrastructure: Maritime Security in the Baltic and North Sea’, Maritime Security Regime Roundtable, NATO Center of Excellence Combined Joined Operations from the Sea, Norfolk
🇵🇹 31.10. – The Environment on the Collective Maritime Security Agenda: Fighting Fishery Crime, VI Atlantic Centre Seminar, on “Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU Fishing) in the wide Atlantic”, Atlantic Center, Portuguese Navy, Lisbon.
🇵🇹 31.10. – Understanding Maritime Security, book presentation, University of Lisbon and online.
🇩🇪 6.11. – Understanding Maritime Security, book presentation, University of Hamburg.
🇨🇭 8.11. – ‘Securing the Seas: A Comprehensive Assessment of Global Maritime Security, report launch, UNIDIR, Geneva and online, register here.
🇬🇧 22.11. – The Future of Maritime Security, Book Launch and Roundtable, RUSI, London.
🇲🇺 26.11. – Pirates, Smugglers and Oil Spills: Maritime Security in the Western Indian Ocean, book launch and roundtable, Charles Telfair Center, Mauritius. register here.

Join me as we explore critical issues in maritime security, from shadow fleets and critical infrastructure to environmental challenges and the future of our oceans.

If you’re interested in maritime affairs, international relations, or environmental issues, I’d love to see you at one of these events. Let’s connect and discuss the future of our seas!


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Italian Seapower Symposium focuses on the seabed as new frontier

Italy hosts the most important European gathering of navies every two years. The 14th Transregional Seapower Symposium took place in Venice last week. 🚢

🌍 67 navies and over 50 heads of navies from across the globe attended and were joined by representatives from industry, academia and international organizations.

📅 The symposium started in 1996 as a meeting for the Mediterranean but soon assumed its current global profile and has been growing into a major global dialogue and agenda setting event.

🌊 This year’s iteration, which I had the pleasure to attend, was focused on the seabed as a new strategic frontier. For a number of years, and specifically since the 2022 attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, Italy and its navy has been spearheading much of the discussion of how to respond to the new uncertainties at sea.

📺 The recording of the events is available on Youtube.

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Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue in New Delhi – Special Address

The Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) is one of the major strategic dialogue formats in India. Organized as a collaboration between the Indian Ministry of Defense, the Indian Navy and the National Maritime Foundation it focuses on the maritime domain.

One of the key purposes of the forum is to discuss the Indian maritime policy of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region – and advance its related action plan known as the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).

NMF Leadership

I had the pleasure to attend the 2024 dialogue in October and to deliver one of the special addresses at the event. Here is the script of my talk which investigated the future of maritime security in the region:

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Building regional maritime security expertise – event in Singapore

Maritime Security depends on effective national capacities for law enforcement and surveillance as well as regional networks. Different approaches are used to help states to develop capacities and networks, including short term training courses and exercises.

This week I had the opportunity to participate in a seminar of an Australian capacity building initiative – the ASEAN Maritime Security Research Program.

✎ This program works with senior officials and allows them to conduct a 3 months research stay at the Australian centers for Sea Power and Air and Space Power. Participants develop a supervised research project on maritime security, participate in military interrelationship activities, such as base visits, and attend Australian multi national military gatherings. Many of the results of the research projects are published.

✎ Announced in 2018 at the Australia-ASEAN summit, 38 military officials from 8 ASEAN nations have participated in the program. Its main objectives are to develop national maritime security expertise, but also build trust, open channels of communication, share best practice and learn lessons, identify innovative solutions, and form a robust network of maritime security experts.

💡The program is noteworthy in the way that it emphasizes longevity and sustainable networks, but also for its focus on developing analytical and research skills, which is often undervalued in capacity building.

Australian organizers, Singapore, 28.8.2024
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Inside Naval Exercises: SEACAT in Singapore

Enhancing maritime domain awareness (MDA) is one of the corner stones of maritime security. Yet, it only works if countries develop a culture of sharing and collaboration across agencies and regional seas.

Practicing MDA through multi-national exercises is a key component of developing such a culture. As part of my ongoing research on the international practice of exercises, last week I had the opportunity to get some first hand experience of how the U.S. navy aims at advancing regional MDA . I participated in the exercise SEACAT 2024.

SEACAT is one of the oldest MDA exercises. Starting as a counter-terrorism exercise in 2002, it was focused on MDA through the 2016 Maritime Security Initiative, and was broadened to the Indo-Pacific in 2019. Over that history it has grown in size, with 2024 seeing more than 200 participants, including many from outside Southeast Asia. What happens at such exercises? What can be learned from them?

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Visit to the Information Fusion Center Singapore

The Information Fusion Center (IFC) of the Republic of Singapore Navy has been a pioneer in regional maritime domain awareness. It’s information products and fact sheets influence regional responses, it’s information sharing system connects agencies of the region, and the its international liaison officer system provides an important way of making sense of incoming incident data and triggering responses. With this architecture the IFC provides an important standard for how regions can advance their maritime surveillance, information sharing and maritime security cooperation.

Participants at the 2024 RMPP, Changi Naval Base, Singapore.
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Book Launch in Singapore

My recent visit to Singapore, provided the opportunity to officially launch Understanding Maritime Security in the country. I presented the book at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). Professor Geoffrey Till (King’s College London) provided comments, and Jane Chan (RSIS). Kindly acted as a chair.

Professor Geoffrey Till, Jane Chan and I after the book launch

At the book launch I gave a quick overview of Understanding Maritime Security and how it provides a new compass for navigating the complexity of security at sea. I then focused on the last chapter which investigates how challenges such as cyber security, climate change and the industrialization of the sea will impact maritime security. The discussion revolved around questions of what makes the maritime security specific if compared to other fields of international security, the relation to naval strategy, and how the future of security at sea


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International Studies Conference in Croatia

The main gathering of scholars in International Relations from Central and Eastern Europe takes place in Rijeka, Croatia this year. Organized in collaboration with the International Studies Association, the event features a large numbers of panels reflecting the breadth of the discipline.

During the event I will participate in a workshop on Ritual Theory, where I am presenting a new paper on multi-national military gatherings and exercises. This draws on my recent visits to several naval symposia and exercises in the last year.

Scholars from the University of Copenhagen at the conference, photo credit: Francesco Ragazzi.

I am also presenting a paper co-authored with Jan Stockbruegger which reflects on the importance of the oceans for international theory. Drawing on the idea that the oceans have been a prominent theme at several times in the discipline, we are argue against claims that the field is seablind.

I am also participating in a roundtable on infrastructure theorizing, and a celebratory panel that looks into the importance of the Journal of International Relations and Development. In addition I am chairing and discussing at panels on knowledge production and expertise.


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Next steps for Maritime Domain Awareness in the Indian Ocean – presentation

Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) is the collective attempt to enhance knowledge and understanding of the maritime space through surveillance, information sharing and reporting systems.

On a regional and national level centers delivering MDA are increasingly more sophisticated and contribute to the identification of threats, for instance, through pattern analysis, or the more effective use of maritime security forces.

A recent workshop organized by the Australian National University and the National Maritime Foundation in New Delhi attempted to take stock of current systems and identify challenges in the Indian Ocean region.

In my (online) presentation at the event, I discussed the evolving frontier of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), emphasizing the need to expand beyond surface monitoring to include subsea, airspace, low orbit, and cyber domains. This is vital to make MDA ready for comprehensive critical maritime infrastructure protection, since many of the challenges lie in other domains then the surface.

Drawing on European experiences following incidents like the Nord Stream pipeline attacks, I identify six major challenges in extending MDA: mapping infrastructure, defining criticality, reporting suspicious behavior, fostering government-industry collaboration, selecting new technologies, and overcoming fragmentation among initiatives. I highlighted the efforts by the EU, NATO, and individual European countries to address these challenges through various programs and strategies.

While Europe’s maritime security context may differ from other regions, the lessons learned are globally relevant as nations worldwide increasingly depend on maritime infrastructure for connectivity, energy, and economic development. Read the entire presentation text here.