Maritime Security Regime Concept: A Global Approach to Regional Challenges.

摘要

Unhindered ability to utilize the Maritime Domain is essential to a healthy global economy and is vital to the strategic security interests of all nations. Loss of access to this significant global supply chain that connects nations, people, markets and manufacturers around the world quickly expands to impact all nations. Direct threats to ensured maritime access include disruption of commerce, interference with the lawful use of the Maritime Domain, and transnational crimes such as piracy and terrorism. Natural phenomena such as severe weather, ice or geological disasters may limit access. Since these threats and events can be expected to continue it would be prudent to prepare for a future where the impact of a variety of access challenges could be prevented, mitigated or resolved. No single nation can ensure access for the global community. The complexity and uncertainty facing the nations of each unique maritime region are compounded by the problems and opportunities of cyber, air, and space domain interdependencies and regional relationships. The interdependence with other domains is evident in that the physical flow in the Maritime Domain is coupled with the information flow in cyberspace, a physical connection to the air domain, and the reliance on space assets for navigation and communication. Maritime Security Regime (MSR) is the term used to describe a group of states and/or organizations acting together, with an agreed upon framework of rules and procedures, to ensure security within the maritime environment. This Concept was developed under the Multinational Experiment 7 (MNE 7). An underlying insight of the Concept is that the global linking of MSRs to other regions and other domains can enhance the ability of the MSR to mitigate their own regional access challenges. It is clear that the nature of maritime access challenges is potentially global in scope and impact. This calls for a global and agile framework designed to support regional challenges.