Matrix of Marine Security Subsets - Coursework Example

Maritime Security inevitably embraces ALL the sub-sets of Security Studies in its widest sense. Does it? If so, why, and if not, why not? Maritime Security is a broad security topic that does not have a specific legal definition, but has been defined as the protection of intentional damage caused to marine resources through subversion, terrorism or sabotage (Beuger:9). Maritime security however does not only concern itself with the protection of the marine resources, but also ventures into other aspects of security strategies, as a supplemental strategy for enhancing security for the marine resources. Most importantly, Marine Security is a concept that cuts across a wide divide of security relations, owing to the fact that the security of marine resources cannot be achieved without the cooperation f the international community (). Additionally, the sustenance of the security efforts against the destruction, intrusion or sabotage of marine resources means that there are cross border issues that must be addressed. This is necessary to ensure that there can be a free movement of the marine security agencies and the navies across the territorial borders to enhance security, where the need arises (Collins:). In this respect, the marine security concept encompasses numerous other security subsets, all of which are drawn together as principle elements for achieving the security of the marine resources. The security of any one country’s marine territory highly depends on the security of the marine territories at a global scale. On the event that the global coastlines, and international seas are weakly governed, marine security threats such as piracy will most likely occur, despite the attempt by any one country to enhance its marine territory protection (Beuger:39). The attainment of marine security requires the cooperation and coordination of numerous security sectors. Thus, the following are some of the subsets of marine security: Matrix of Marine Security Subsets Maritime Security subsets Specific Area of Security Concern Security of seafarers and fishers This element of the marine security seeks to ensure decent working conditions for the people on board shipping vessels ships. The great focus is to enhance the security of the safe operation of the ships and the vessels while in the seas and other maritime resources (). The security concern is to ensure the free movement of the seafarers and fishers on the seas and their safety exit at the shores. This is simply targeted at ensuring the smooth operation of the shipping industry, while at the same time ensuring the welfare of the seafarers (). Resource security Port security: This subset o the maritime security seeks to enhance the safety and security of the marine resources such as the ports, the vessels and other facilities associated with the marine (). Port security handles the overall security of the personnel, vessels and facilities that are situated at ports (). The security strategy entails the identification of threats, communication of relevant information across the necessary agencies, coordination of the relevant resources and mitigation of any form of threat that may arise. The enhancement of port security requires the careful identification of the most vulnerable resources to sabotage or subversion, and then coordinating the necessary resources to address both the threats and the consequences (). The essence of port security as a subset of marine resource security is to ensure free entry and exit into different ports for the port users and their vessels. Facility Security: The Facility Security as a subset of the marine resource security refers to the protection of all the structures located in, adjacent or in close proximity to waters that are under the jurisdiction of any government authority (). These structures requires protection, owing to the fact that they remain the main targets of pirates and terrorists, who may want to exploit the facilities for advancing their sabotage, subversion or resource confiscation agendas. The marine structures and terminals should always be maintained under strict protection, to enhance the safety of the vessels and also that of the users, such as the passengers (). Vessel Security: Vessel security is a subset of the marine resource security requiring that both the governments and the owners of the vessels designate sufficient security protocols and security measures to any vessel that operates on the marine territories (). The vessels should be designated with security officers by the owners of the vessels as part of the private security initiative, while the government should also designate sufficient security protocols that will enhance the protection f the vessels while on the waters. The combination of both the private and the government security fo vessels is an important strategy for ensuring the safety of the shipping and fishing industry (). Maritime Domain Awareness Maritime Domain Awareness is a subset of marine security, which deals with the issue of security cooperation. The MDA operates under the assumption that the acquisition and sharing of useful information amongst the international security partners reduces the vulnerability of the marine resources, and enhances the safety and security of the shipping and fishing industries (). Further, through MDA, international partners can cooperate in the investment of marine security infrastructure, which will see the international community reap the benefit of safe and free movement o the water vessels in any of the international waters. Additionally, MDA, as a subset of marine security, seeks to eliminate both the cultural and policy barriers that may hinder the cooperation and cross border interaction of the marine security details (). The importance of this move is to ensure that the international marine agencies can cooperate in the surveillance of the international waters without causing a conflict of territorial borders. In addition, though MDA, the prohibitive costs o establishing and maintaining the necessary marine security and surveillance infrastructure will be addressed. This is because; once the international community is cooperating in creating awareness of the relevance of marine security not only to the safety of the fishing and shipping industry, but also to the entire global security systems, cooperation in investment can easily be attained. The MDA does not only seek cooperation from the governmental authorities, but also from the cross-border private sector operating in the shipping and fishing industries. Subsets of security International peace and security International peace and security is a subset of the wider security concept, which addresses the issue of the global security vis-à-vis the existing threats of terrorism that is rampant in the modern world (). International peace and security has largely been threatened by marine insecurity, through the terrorists using the water resources to launch their attacks on fundamental international security installations, as well as sabotage, subvert or confiscate property on the international waters. The Somali piracy scenario is a good example of how marine insecurity poses a threat to international peace and security (Beuger:12). The Somali pirates hijacked ships and vessels on the Indian Ocean, thus completely paralyzing any form of trade or free movement between 2010 and 2012. This persisted until the international community took an international security approach to the issue, and engaged in a fight with the pirates on the Indian Ocean and eventually won the battle through marine surveillance and navy attacks on the pirates (Beuger:13). Thus, with marine security being vulnerable to insecurity threats, the whole of the international peace and security is also under great danger. Environmental security Environmental security is a subset of security that looks at the threat posed by human and human conflicts such as international relations on the environment, and how such problems eventually turn into cross border challenges (Kobtzeff, 2000:221). Thus, environmental security focuses on the threat that is posed by both the military, in this case the navy, and the other users of the water resources, and how the damages can be repaired without accelerating he problem into a cross state border conflict (Kobtzeff, 2000:247). Environmental security also focuses on the abilities of the marine security sector to deal with the challenges posed to the environment, and seeks ways of generating sufficient resources and manpower cooperation to alleviate these environmental risks, such as the risks of carbon emissions and oil spillages in the international waters. Fundamentally, environmental security focuses on the international cooperation in the protection f the marine resources such as the waters, fish and other aquatic and wildlife that are commonly shared by the international community along their state borders. Aquatic and wildlife are some of the resources that are difficult to contain within the state borders, which then requires that appropriate international security measures are put in place to avert conflicts over these resources (Kobtzeff, 2000:233). Diplomatic Security Diplomatic Security purely deals with the creation of a safe and secure environment where foreign policies can be implemented without undue conflicts (). Thus, diplomatic security also affects marine security in a major way, owing to the fact that certain diplomatic conflicts in relation to marine resources such as fish will always arise between different nations. A good example of such as conflict is the diplomatic conflict between Chile and Peru over associated fishery borders in the 1980s (). Thus, marine insecurity poses a major threat to diplomatic security, owing to the fact that containing the marine resources within the borders of a nation is practically difficult, which then mean that nations sharing cross-border marine resources are not immune to experience some diplomatic challenges, unless effective diplomatic security strategies are established to overcome these threats (). Human security Human security represents the changing paradigm of security focus, which requires that the concept of national security should change to that if human security, since human, rather than the state, is prone more to security vulnerabilities (Thomas, 2001:163). Thus, Human security majorly focuses on the peaceful coexistence of humans both domestically and internationally, based on the established principles of human rights. The concept of human security was established by the United Nations Development Program in 1994, which developed a report emphasizing on the necessity for all humans to live a life that is free from fear (Thomas, 2001:172). Thus, human security is a subset of security that is highly prone to the threat of marine insecurity, owing to the fact that the threats to marine security such as piracy and terrorism poses a great challenge to human security, through denying humans the freedom from fear. Political security Political security is a subset of the wider security that refers to the political independence of a nation, which is build upon the principles of territorial sovereignty of a nation (Emmers, 2007:111). More than the other subsets of security, political security is largely affected by the marine insecurity, owing to the fact that any issue of marine conflict will result in a threat to territorial sovereignty of nations. This means that the nations are likely to be engaged in a wave of political conflicts that threatens both the peaceful coexistence of the nations involved in the conflict and the wider international political stability (Emmers, 2007:133). Therefore, just like diplomatic security, political stability is also highly prone to the threats of marine insecurity such as terrorism and piracy. Energy security Energy security is a subset of security that addresses the issue of availability and sustainability of energy resources and sources of such energy, by addressing matters such as access to cheap sources of energy (Brown & Sovacool, 2010:77). Similar to political security, energy security has caused a wide range of conflict between different nations globally, mostly pitching the west and the Middle East nations. Energy security is highly vulnerable to marine insecurity, owing to the fact that most of the energy resources such as oil, gas and coal are heavy products mostly transported through water (Brown & Sovacool, 2010:77). Thus, Energy security is highly vulnerable to the threats of marine security such as piracy, since the energy resources in transit are prone to confiscation, sabotage or subversion by the pirates operating on the international waters (Brown & Sovacool, 2010:81). In conclusion therefore, marine security inevitably embraces all the subsets of security studies in its widest sense. This is because, every aspect of the wider security, be it international peace and security, diplomatic, political, energy, environmental or human security, is vulnerable to the threats of marine insecurity. Whenever marine security is threatened, there is no doubt that the other subsets of security will be upset in one or the other. In this respect, marine security touches on every other aspect of the wider security concept, meaning that it is a discipline whose study cannot be divorced from the entire security study. References Bueger, C. (2015). Learning from piracy: future challenges of maritime security governance. Global Affairs, 1(1), 33-42. Brown, M. & Sovacool, B. (2010). "Competing Dimensions of Energy Security: An International Perspective". Annual Review of Environment and Resources 35: 77-82. Collins, A. (2003). Securityand Southeast Asia: Domestic, Regional, and Global Issues. Colorado, USA: Lynne Rienner. Emmers, R. (2007) Contemporary Security Studies, A. Collins (ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press. 111-134. Kobtzeff, Oleg. (2000). Environmental Security and Civil Society. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.  219–296. Thomas, C. (2001). Global governance, development and human security: exploring the links. Third World Quarterly 22(2):159-175. Read More