Small Island Developing States: A Key Opportunity For Cooperation In Maritime Security?

Maritime security is often seen through traditional security perspectives that draw from the pre-Cold War world. Such dated perspectives tend to focus primarily on traditional security matters like piracy. However, the blue economy of sea-locked island nations and the coinciding growing interest of major powers in climate change has partly redefined the concept of maritime security. Since the end of the Cold War, both academia and political forces have reinforced the important nexus that exists between sustainable development and security, which is especially true in the fragile maritime context.

What Small Developing States reveal about maritime and global security

The circumstances of the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) illustrate the need for global security and the increasing importance of oceans, which has been crystallised in the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Many SIDS find themselves in geostrategic positions that jeopardise their own security and the wider effort for sustainability. The island of Seychelles, for instance, suffers from traditional security threats due to its proximity to Somalia (Malcom and Murday, 2017). Yet in the 2000s, other concerns surrounding illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing arose, especially because of the damage it is causing to biodiversity. Marine resources are often controlled by rich states which often intrude on the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) of SIDS such as Mauritius. These small islands then must deal with the consequences that stem from the loss of their own resources and their security in general; Mauritius, for example, lacks the personnel and equipment to combat the illegal use of its maritime resources and drug trafficking on its coastline. The inability of small island states to secure their EEZ enables global fisheries to benefit from the maritime resources of developing island states. This is becoming an ever-increasing problem for these small islands since economic growth in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean translates into the increasing scale of fisheries.

According to the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, it is the duty of the flag states, not the coastal states, to control the coastal states’ vessels activities in the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). However, this request does not sit well alongside international customary law. The conflict that arises is between the freedom of navigation within the EEZ (similar to the High Seas legislation) and the sovereign rights of the coastal states themselves (Cordner, 2010). However, sovereignty requires the capacity to secure and implement the necessary measures against biodiversity loss and external overexploitation. According to Samoan Report (2014), traditional threats such as piracy, terrorism and armed robbery at sea are not considered as primary concerns in its sustainability and maritime security efforts.

The cases for strategic sovereignty and cooperation

However, not all SIDS struggle to enforce their own maritime security interests. As Madeira (2019) points out, Cape Verde is a remarkable lesson in resource acquisition and management. These small islands started off with a privileged geopolitical position, and their stability and good governance positively added to that. The islands’ economic efficiency and geostrategic location provided Cape Verde with a better and greater chance to successfully engage in regional and international cooperation, as well as the capacity to proactively and wisely invest in territorial security. SIDS have recently attempted to unify efforts to tackle their geopolitical power shortages. In fact, they have met collectively to discuss sustainability goals in 1994 (Barbados), 2005 (Mauritius) and 2014 (Samoa). The small islands have also created The Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), a collective lobbying group. However, without wider regional and international recognition, small islands’ concerns are not getting solved anytime soon. Most regional platforms either exclude some members, do not focus on security issues and non-governmental processes or only engage in dialogue (Swaine, 2015).

Nonetheless, some islands are succeeding in their sustainability efforts with international aid. A great example of success would be the Solomon Islands. This sovereign state is situated amidst a regional energy competition; the interplay between the interests of China, Japan, and India in the Pacific, in addition to the battle for influence between Russia and the United States in the north of the Asian continent. Amidst these destabilising rivalries and changing environment, the Solomon Islands has still been able to embrace and implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of “Affordable and Clean Energy” (Techera, 2018); (Cordner, 2018). The Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres launched several regional projects in 2017. Among those projects, the Pacific based project successfully exemplified effective data analysis and the subsequent implementation of more environmentally friendly and energy consumption measures. This initiative, implemented by the International Maritime Organisation, was particularly successful in drastically cutting maritime emissions in the Solomon Islands.

Four years later, the Solomon Islands continue to honour these new commitments to the long term security of its seas, in-relation to its offshore energy production. The security struggles that the Solomon Islands still occasionally suffers with, such as an 80-tonne oil spill in 2019, suggests that there is still more maritime security work to be done (Perry, 2019). However, its successful attempt in rebalancing its own maritime security with its energy needs has resulted in a wider win-win situation for the future security of not only itself but also the globe.

Sources:

Erika J. Techera (2018) ‘Supporting blue economy agenda: fisheries, food security and climate change in the Indian Ocean’, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 14:1, 7-27, DOI: 10.1080/19480881.2017.1420579

International Maritime Organization (n.d.) ‘Programme on technical cooperation to enhance the maritime sector of Solomon Islands.’

James A. Malcolm & Linganaden Murday (2017) ‘Small islands’ understanding of maritime security: the cases of Mauritius and Seychelles’, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region,13:2, 234-256, DOI: 10.1080/19480881.2017.1328018

Joao Paulo Madeira (2019) ‘Security Challenges for Small Developing States: The Case of Cape Verde. Revista de Relaciones Internacionales, Estrategia y Seguridad.’Vol.14(2) DOI: https://doi.org/10.18359/ries.3756

Lee Cordner (2010) ‘Rethinking maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region’, 6:1, 67-85, DOI: 10.1080/19480881.2010.489671

Lee Cordner (2018) ‘Maritime security in the Indian Ocean and the western pacific: heritage and contemporary challenges’, Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 14:3, 369-370, DOI: 10.1080/19480881.2018.1469256

Michael D. Swaine et al (2015) ‘Conflict and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region: A strategic net assessment’. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Nick Perry (2019) ‘Grounded ship leaks 80 tons of oil near Pacific’. Associated Press. Retrieved from: https://apnews.com/article/671654144ac74b21b05b58675f4d9163.

Secretariat of the Pacific Community (2014)’‘Samoa Report.’ Retrieved from: https://www.spc.int/resource-centre/country-reports/samoa-country-report-2014.