In a new edition of my newsletter Turbulent Seas I discuss the growing importance of coast guards in maritime security and their role in international cooperation.
Given the changing security environment and the fact that navies are more and more focused on traditional roles coast guards assume a wider spectrum of tasks including in critical maritime infrastructure protection and responding to grey zone tactics.
This week the term begins at the Københavns Universitet – University of Copenhagen. It’s always a highlight in the academic calendar, filled with plenty of meetings.
This term I have the pleasure of teaching a seminar on global ocean politics. The course is designed to familiarize students with the key challenges facing our oceans—from declining ocean health and the intricacies of blue economy management to maritime security—and how these issues are addressed by global policy professionals.
The oceans should form a core part of International Relations curricula, and I’m glad that’s the case in Copenhagen.
I also look forward to working with several master’s students, supervising a range of exciting thesis projects, many of which focus on maritime issues.
After considerable travel over the summer, including trips to Singapore, Taiwan, Mauritius, and the Maldives, it will be great to catch up with office colleagues and develop our shared projects.
Critical maritime infrastructure protection is a global concern, as nations worldwide face the challenge of ensuring the resilience of subsea cables and offshore infrastructure. This week, I visited Taipei to discuss how subsea data cables and offshore green energy installations can be better protected in the island’s waters. I participated in the Ketagalan Forum and met with local security experts and policy makers.
Over recent years, the island has faced a series of accidents that led to cuts in vital data cables. This has made protection a top policy priority, raising questions about how lessons from the Baltic Sea can be adapted to Taiwan.
Yet, the concern should not be with data cables alone. Like the Baltic Sea region, the waters off Taiwan have enormous wind energy potential that could, in essence, fully decarbonize the industry. However, expanding offshore wind will require attention to security concerns.
To enhance resilience, Taiwan will need to draw on international best practices: improve its connectivity, enhance surveillance of its maritime domain, criminalize tampering with infrastructure, strengthen coordination with industry, strengthen repair capacity, and engage in cable diplomacy by working closely with regional neighbors, including Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, and ASEAN members, but also global partners such as the EU. Regional coast guard cooperation and information sharing, as well as joint development of surveillance technology, could be vital components of such partnerships.
While my visit was short, it provided a great opportunity to meet colleagues, make new friends, and gain a first impression of Taipei.
I have launched Turbulent Seas – my new newsletter published on LinkedIn. In this new format, I will provide monthly deep dives into global maritime security developments from around the world.
In the first edition I examine recent developments in subsea data cable protection. Cable protection has become a key feature of maritime security and a lot of activities have developed over the last years.
In upcoming editions I will reflect on key developments in regions, such as the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean, but also maritime security solutions, such as coast guard cooperation, or information sharing.
For effective maritime security governance, regional organizations have to work closely to ensure synergies and avoid overlap. In a new policy report published with Trends Research & Advisory (Dubai) I discuss the role of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Western Indian Ocean.
Drawing on a brief discussion of how the Western Indian Ocean faces complex, evolving threats—from traditional piracy to armed attacks on shipping, climate-induced risks and vulnerability of critical infrastructure, I show how both the EU and GCC are major players in regional maritime security, but operate within a fragmented institutional landscape of overlapping mandates. Rather than consolidating institutions, success lies in embracing “adaptive patchwork governance” that leverages diversity while enhancing coordination.
Our new book titled the ‘Politics of Global Ocean Regions’ is now available through Springer. Edited with Elizabeth Mendenhall and Rebecca Strating, the book advances a novel analytical framework for studying the politics of global ocean regions, shedding new light on the complex interactions in ocean spaces such as the Arctic, Indo-Pacific, and Indian Ocean.
We want to show that the oceans are not just vast expanses of blue, but dynamic political spaces shaped by complex regional dynamics. This work is the outcome of a three year research collaboration with leading experts across different ocean regions. It includes chapters by by William Waqavakatoga, Joanne Wallis, Samuel Bashfield, Leandra R. Gonçalves, Ana Flávia Barros-Platiau, Carlos Henrique Tomé, Carina Costa de Oliveira, and Andreas Østhagen, as well as by the three editors.
Written for students, researchers, and analysts interested in regionalism and ocean governance, this comprehensive study:
🔗 Available now: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-88984-4 (Contact me, if you cannot access via your institution)
I hope this work will serve as an essential resource for understanding how diverse and complex regional maritime politics shape our world, providing a valuable framework to guide future research in this critical field.
This week, I had the privilege of contributing to Colombia’s Navy Strategic Foresight seminar – a fascinating glimpse into how one of South America’s most capable maritime forces is preparing for 2055.
Colombia’s unique position as a two-ocean country, with coastlines on both the Pacific and Atlantic (through the Caribbean Sea), has shaped its navy into not just South America’s largest, but a recognized regional maritime security leader. From counter-narcotics operations to counter-piracy missions in the Western Indian Ocean, and the countries role as a global partner of NATO, Colombia maintains a impressive global profile.
At the seminar I gave a lecture on the future of maritime security and participated in a round table. I emphasized Colombia’s potential to lead maritime security across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the broader Atlantic region. I also stresses the role of the navy in protecting critical maritime infrastructure – particularly as Colombia pursues its ambitious goals to become both a renewable energy powerhouse and a digital leader.
The country’s enormous offshore wind potential and its reliance on secure subsea data cables make maritime infrastructure protection a national security imperative. It was eye-opening to see how naval strategy is evolving beyond traditional threats.
Other participants highlighted several important maritime security trends, including automation and AI integration in naval operations, proliferation of disruptive weapons and surveillance technologies, including autonomous systems, escalating cybersecurity challenges, the adaptability of criminal organizations, and the prospective threats of grey zone warfare in the region.
My time in Bogotá also provided valuable insights into Colombia’s comprehensive approach to regional security, including the innovative counter-narcotics naval campaign Orion and the regional analysis center CMCOM.
My latest commentary explores a critical paradox: while all nations depend on the sea for trade, energy, and digital communication, some benefit from the sea economically more than others. Some states, such as small islands, face high risks but have few benefits. The global responsibility to protect the sea hence needs burden-sharing. Organizing this is not easy. I highlight three puzzles:
I stress that maritime challenges require innovative solutions that balance sovereignty with international cooperation. The success stories – like Seychelles’ anti-piracy efforts and the Indian Ocean Commission’s MASE structures – show what’s possible when capacity building is done right.
The commentary is published by CIMSEC as part of the 2025 African Maritime Force Summit series, and available here.
On the 16th of June I had the pleasure to give a briefing at the Bahamas Conference on Zones of Peace in Global Waters organized by Bahamas and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation at the UN. Here is the write up of my intervention.
The oceans have captured significant high-level attention in recent weeks, with the UN Ocean Conference in Nice and the UN Security Council’s maritime security high-level open debate highlighting both consensus and fundamental tensions in global ocean governance. These events underscore a critical debate that has long shaped maritime policy: whether ocean challenges are better addressed through global frameworks at the UN level or through regional arrangements. The concept of zones of peace deserves recognition as a potential distinctly regionalist approach to ocean governance.
Continue readingThe United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold a high-level open debate on maritime security on 20.5. Initiated by the Greek presidency of the Council the event is titled “Strengthening Maritime Security through international cooperation for global stability”.
I’m delighted that the presidency has invited me to brief the Council. My presentation draws in large parts on our 2024 report ‘Securing the Seas. A comprehensive assessment of global maritime security‘ published by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), written with Tim Edmunds and Jan Stockbruegger.