Christian Bueger


Briefing the UN Security Council

The 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.


Naval symposium in Singapore

Among international naval conferences, the International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) of the Singapore Navy stands as the most significant for Southeast Asian countries. Over the past few days, I had the pleasure to attend at Changi Exhibition Centre.

The event featured distinguished speakers from academia alongside representatives from the maritime security forces of Canada, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and the United States. Participants reaffirmed their commitment to information sharing, capacity building, and upholding the status quo, while addressing current challenges. As in previous years, IMSC was also a major gathering of global maritime security experts, including participants from China, Europe, and the United States.

Key take aways:

  • The South China Sea situation remains central to the regional maritime security agenda, though discussions carried a more optimistic tone than in previous years.
  • Critical maritime infrastructure protection has emerged as a priority for regional states, with particular focus on subsea data cables. ASEAN could potentially develop coordinated efforts in this direction.
  • The proliferation of autonomous weapon systems and strategies for responding to grey zone operations represent the most challenging issues currently facing the region.

This shows how such events are a useful barometer for how security discourse is developing, which is one of the arguments which I am developing in a new project on the impact of global military gatherings.


Our Ocean Conference in Korea

Ocean governance is complex. More than 26 UN organizations govern some part of the ocean, and the number of mechanisms for regional seas is even higher. One of the initiatives that cuts through this complexity is the annual Our Ocean Conference (OOC). This week, I had the pleasure of attending the 10th edition of the event in Busan, Korea, and presenting our recent maritime security study at a side event.

The OOC is a format introduced by the United States in 2014 under the Obama administration. At the event, key ocean challenges are discussed at senior expert and ministerial levels, and states, industry, and NGOs are invited to make commitments.

Key themes of this year’s gathering were the expansion of marine protected areas, sustainable fishing, and the decarbonization of shipping. The gathering is also a significant networking opportunity with dozens of side events, receptions, and dinners.

For the anniversary, Korea funded an assessment of the format’s past achievements and introduced a digital focus with a stronger business component. The conference now has a formal secretariat that tracks commitments and will support the 2026 host, Kenya, and the city of Mombasa.

Our side event was hosted by the Embassy of Denmark in Korea, the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS), United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, and the University of Copenhagen, with support from the Velux Foundation. We explored pathways for building stronger links between maritime security and the blue economy.

The OOC exemplifies why we need these links, as ocean discussions rarely consider security beyond illicit fishing. A discussion of the role coastguards and navies play in marine conservation, for instance, is often missing.


The EU’s progress in maritime domain awareness – demonstration in Rome

πŸ”Ž The backbone of maritime security are information sharing systems. These are important for sharing information, such as suspicious vessels of interest, between agencies and states and to facilitate joint operations.

βš“ To get a better understanding of what happens in European seas, the European Union is developing two systems. The Common Information Sharing Environment, known as CISE connects civilian authorities, coast guards, fishery protection and police. The MARSUR system provides such services for the military and aims at sharing also classified, secrete information.

🌍 Yesterday I had the pleasure to attend an operational demonstration of MARSUR at the EUNAVFOR headquarters in Rome. Key insights:

➑️ MARSUR is based on an agreement between 22 European states, which includes the United Kingdom and Norway. Its development is led by the European Defense Agency (EDA) since 2005. The system has for long been under development and only recently gained full operational capability, now in a version known as MARSUR 3.

➑️ The event, attended by representatives of European navies, the European Commission and the European External Action Service, showcased how MARSUR can be used to share information and provides rules based threat detection capabilities. Most importantly it allows to gain a shared cross-European picture of the sea.

➑️ The system now also includes a direct link to the civilian CISE system and a link to NATO information sharing tools is under development.

➑️ The demonstration in Rome was an invitation to participating states to start using the system and connect to it, as only five states so far have a working link. The system will be particularly useful for joint operations by the European Naval Forces.

➑️ MARSUR continues, however, to be in development. For now it is too reliant on AIS data, does not directly integrated data from satellites or live feeds from cameras for instance. Working towards standardized European-wide risk profiles of vessels moreover would be an important step of the process. Ensuring that the CISE integration works well and information, including from databases such as customs, will be vital in making MARSUR effective.

βš“ The half day event also featured a review of the current EU maritime security system, included the Coordinated Maritime Presences, the Maritime Area of Interest Coordination Cell, and the three current naval operations Atalanta, Aspides and Irini.

πŸ™ I had the pleasure to address the audience in the opening panel and introduced some ideas of what the big upcoming challenges for MDA are, including the need to integrate critical maritime infrastructure protection, cyber security and ensuring better application interfaces between platforms.


First events in 2025

A wonderful start into the new year.

Kicking off, I had the pleasure to discuss the state of maritime security in the western Indian Ocean with Brendon J. Cannon, Jhinni Awotar, and Myriam Blin in a panel organized by Charles Telfair Centre – Mauritius’ leading think tank.

I had the pleasure to attend and contribute to a major meeting on the future of Maritime Domain Awareness organized by The Australian National University. Over a week we discussed how MDA can get stronger using new technologies, platforms and sensors. While our understanding of maritime activities and threats is improving, there is also a range of new challenges: threats to critical infrastructure or cyber security incidents need to be integrated into MDA and states in the Indian Ocean region need to pay more attention to them.

My thoughts from the MDA meeting and what it means for Sri Lanka, are covered in an interview that I did with the newspaper The Morning.

It was also fantastic to meet the 2025 class of my maritime security course. This year’s cohort will train maritime security analysis by developing recommendations for regional maritime security architectures.

Finally, ‘Understanding Maritime Security‘ is now available as Asian edition with Oxford University Press India. I hope the new edition (and reduced price) will make it more accessible to readers in India, Sri Lanka and elsewhere.


The year in review

πŸ”Š What a year! 2024 has been a whirlwind of maritime security developments, research, and engagement.

πŸ”Ž The Red Sea crisis and unprecedented attacks on shipping, the rising threat to critical maritime infrastructures we all depend on, the return of piracy activities off the coast of Somalia, environmental degradation, and the continuing need to build stronger maritime security governance institutions across regional seas.

πŸ” The numbers tell part of the story: I’ve given 45 talks across the world, published 14 commentaries, a book and 9 research articles, appeared 40+ in media across 13 languages.

Two major milestones stand out:

βœ… The publication of “Understanding Maritime Security” with Oxford University Press (with Tim Edmunds) – which first reviewers have described as a “go-to resource” and a “must-read one stop shop”.

βœ… and our comprehensive report “Securing the Seas”, marking the beginning of a new partnership with the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research to upscale expertise on collective maritime security challenges.

✳️ On the theoretical front, delighted to see two key contributions appear in Global Studies Quarterly: our work on the interaction of communities of practice in ocean governance (with Maren Hofius & Scott Edwards), and a piece rethinking objects and infrastructures in world politics through the lens of modern piracy (with Jan Stockbruegger). Both articles push forward how we think about global governance, the oceans, and materiality in international relations.

🌍 It was a privilege to contribute to major maritime forums: the Trans-Regional Seapower Symposium, the Indian Navy’s MILAN Exercise, the UK First Sea Lord’s Sea Power Conference, Shade Med and SHADE 52. These gatherings highlighted how maritime security continues to be at the heart of global affairs, particularly as we grappled with critical infrastructure protection challenges and the evolving Red Sea crisis.

🧢 In 2025, I will continue to comment on the evolving maritime security landscape, and I look forward to expanding the partnership with UNIDIR and develop a maritime security program that can make a difference.

🎒 But it is also time to finish our new book on the implications of the Age of Infrastructure for Global Ocean Politics, watch out for more soon!

πŸ™ Thank you to all friends, collaborators, partners, and the broader maritime security community for all the support and inspiring conversations, and another remarkable year of working towards safer seas. Here’s to more collaboration in 2025


New UNIDIR report: Securing the Seas

I’m thrilled to share our new report: ‘Securing the Seas: A Comprehensive Assessment of Global Maritime Security’, written with Tim Edmunds and Jan Stockbruegger in collaboration with United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Here’s what makes this report unique:

  • We’ve mapped 20 emerging challenges that will reshape the future of security at sea.
  • We’re giving you the first-ever complete and detailed map of global maritime security governance.
  • We’re highlighting critical threats you need to know about, e.g.:
    • Critical maritime infrastructure protection
    • Dark fleet operations
    • Maritime cyber security
    • Naval mine proliferation
    • Green defense challenges
  • We call for better calibrating formal and informal and regional and global responses and new forms of coordination.

This is just the beginning of our work with UNIDIR on maritime security, and I’d love to hear your thoughts on the report. What are the challenges that we should prioritize? How can we tackle them?

Download the report here


On tour – Upcoming talks on maritime security

πŸ“’ Exciting News: Upcoming Talks on Maritime Security and Book Launch! πŸ“šπŸŒŠ

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:

πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ 28.10. – The Future of Maritime Security, book presentation, U.S. Naval War College, Newport
πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ 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
πŸ‡΅πŸ‡Ή 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.
πŸ‡΅πŸ‡Ή 31.10. – Understanding Maritime Security, book presentation, University of Lisbon and online.
πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ 6.11. – Understanding Maritime Security, book presentation, University of Hamburg.
πŸ‡¨πŸ‡­ 8.11. – ‘Securing the Seas: A Comprehensive Assessment of Global Maritime Security, report launch, UNIDIR, Geneva and online, register here.
πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ 22.11. – The Future of Maritime Security, Book Launch and Roundtable, RUSI, London.
πŸ‡²πŸ‡Ί 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!


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.

πŸ“… 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.

πŸ“Ί 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).

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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