The following passages have been reproduced with permission from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)'s publication, Sea Change: Advancing Australia's ocean interests.
Australia is a three-ocean country with a large stake in the management and security of the Indian, Pacific and Southern oceans, as well as the seas lying to our north—the Timor, Arafura and Coral seas. Geographically, we're potentially an oceanic superpower with one of the largest areas of maritime jurisdiction in the world. This is vitally important to our future prosperity and security. Managing our large maritime domain and ensuring our future maritime security are great challenges for Australia—they are complex, whole-of-government problems that won't be solved through conventional wisdom and traditional approaches.
This report explores the value of the oceans to Australia and the threats they now face. It includes recommendations on protecting and securing Australia's maritime interests, and what we might do regionally to foster cooperation across the Indo–Pacific region. Australia's future largely depends on how we act as a maritime power, but we need to do much more to realise the full potential of the oceans.
Despite Australia's large maritime domain and extensive maritime interests, it isn't yet a great maritime nation or maritime power. Australia has focused much more on continental concerns, particularly farming and mining, and paid scant attention to maritime issues; historically, we've left our maritime industry largely in foreign hands.
On the credit side, however, we've put in place effective arrangements for maritime border protection, and have taken positive steps to confirm the limits of our area of maritime jurisdiction. We've also taken a leading role at the International Maritime Organization and in other international and regional forums to provide safer shipping and to protect the marine environment and conserve its living resources.
The development of international management and legal regimes for using the oceans has received much attention in recent years, leading to recognition that the interrelationship of ocean interests requires an integrated approach to oceans management. Climate change is now a major issue for the international community, although the role of the oceans in climate change has been under-appreciated.
For the past twenty years or so, Australia has attempted to get its ocean management act together. Australia's Oceans Policy was released in 1998, but it hasn't achieved the high expectations originally set for it. It's now mainly an environmental policy focused on implementing a system of bioregional marine plans, although the necessary biophysical, social and economic knowledge those plans are based on is often deficient.
Responsibility for maritime security and managing our maritime interests is spread across national and state agencies. Marine scientific research is also conducted by several agencies. There's a strong requirement for effective interagency coordination. While much progress has been made in recent years, particularly with the coordination of civil maritime security through the Strategic Maritime Management Committee, our failure to achieve a truly integrated approach to oceans management shows that further measures are still required.
Our maritime interests are strategic, political, economic and environmental. Strategic interests comprise offshore island territories, the Australian Antarctic Territory, the sea–air gap, and navigational rights and freedom. Political interests include effective arrangements with the states and territories for managing our maritime domain and interests, and cooperation with our regional neighbours for oceans management and good order at sea. Economic interests are traditional marine industry, shipping and seaborne trade, and energy, as well as emerging new marine industries, such as wind and tidal energy, desalination, deep seabed mining, carbon capture and storage, and marine biotechnology. Environmental interests include a healthy marine environment, better marine scientific knowledge, more accurate hydrographic data, and oceans governance.
The oceans are a major physical resource for Australia. The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf offer large economic benefits, and so potentially, do the high seas under international regimes. We should give greater priority to exploring our economic opportunities in the oceans.
There are also direct and indirect threats and risks in the oceans, and they're increasing. Direct threats include maritime terrorism, illegal activity at sea, and illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing. Indirect ones include food insecurity, energy insecurity, climate change, loss of marine biodiversity, marine pollution, ocean acidification, marine natural hazards, and the impact of the oceans on drought. Direct threats are evident today and are generally receiving attention, but indirect threats tend to be longer term and mightn't be getting the attention they deserve. We need more policy focus on the less immediate threats, including the interrelationship between climate change and the oceans. The potential consequences of the indirect threats and risks are very serious. Dealing with these threats and risks requires greater international cooperation and more concerted political action.
The oceans should figure prominently in Australian strategic thinking, but we've so far failed to fully grasp their strategic significance. In many ways, Australia creates an image of itself as an insecure nation still seeking security against rather than with the region. The promotion of Australia as a maritime power and a reliable maritime partner involves consideration of "soft power", as well as "hard power". Most strategic thinking in Australia is locked into hard power, but the oceans offer us great potential to apply soft power and creative diplomacy.
Australia has a clear strategic interest in helping to build stability in the oceans and seas that surround it. This is one of the surest ways we can prevent threats to our security arising. We can do it by helping regional countries build their capacity to manage and protect their maritime interests, but we need to be careful that our actions and statements don't add to regional maritime instability.
The conclusions and recommendations in this report concern what can be achieved at the national level, and possible initiatives to promote Australia's involvement in regional management of maritime issues. There are several priorities:
1. Australia should do more to promote itself as a confident regional maritime
power. We're moving to increase our hard maritime power, but we could also do more to demonstrate soft maritime power.
2. We need to develop a higher level of understanding and awareness of the oceans, including by increasing our efforts in marine science and technology.
3. We should adopt a more coordinated approach to oceans management and maritime affairs.
4. We need to work actively with our neighbours to promote a stable regional environment that addresses shared maritime concerns and will prevent the emergence of threats to Australia's future prosperity and security.
5. We need to develop our national capacity for managing and protecting the oceans and our national interests.
Recommendations
Becoming a maritime power
Regional leadership
1. The post of Ambassador for the Oceans should be established to lead Australia's involvement in international and regional cooperation on oceans management.
2. Particular attention should be given to the Indian Ocean, which currently lacks effective forums for oceans management and the exploitation of marine resources. We should work closely with India and South Africa on this.
3. Discussions should be started with France, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands on the cooperative management of the Coral Sea to discharge joint responsibilities under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Part IX.
4. Australia should actively promote regional adherence to the key international conventions and agreements for providing good order at sea.
Cooperative fisheries management
5. A whole-of-government approach should be developed to deepen and broaden cooperative regional fisheries engagement. The approach should address the limitations of the regional fisheries management organisations, particularly by increasing Australian funding for science in those organisations.
Aid priorities
6. Australian priorities for providing assistance and aid to regional countries should recognise the strategic benefit of building capacity in maritime affairs, including for fisheries management and enforcement.
Maritime understanding and awareness
Marine science and technology
7. A national framework for marine science and research and development, including arrangements for private–public sector cooperation, should be developed through a new
National Steering Committee for Marine Research and Innovation established within the Innovation, Industry, Science and Research portfolio.
8. Greater priority should be given to exploring the economic opportunities in the oceans, including support for emerging new marine industries, such as wind and tidal energy, desalination, deep seabed mining, carbon capture and storage, and marine biotechnology.
Marine environmental data
9. An Australian National Ocean Observatory should be established, building on the Integrated Marine Observing System initiative. The observatory would make real-time and virtual data available to researchers, industry and the public, and would help to promote awareness of the oceans and their resources.
Multidisciplinary research
10. Interdisciplinary research in oceans affairs should be encouraged. The review of National Research Priorities in 2009 should consider including one priority specifically related to the maritime domain.
Parliamentary Maritime Group
11. An all-party Maritime Group should be established in the Australian Parliament, comprising interested members of parliament and selected senior industry representatives.
Management arrangements
12. An Office of Oceans and Maritime Affairs (OOMA) should be established in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to provide central coordination of oceans and maritime policy.
13. The OOMA should be supported by a National Oceans Commission to provide high-level public–private sector advice on marine industry and oceans affairs. As an initial task, the commission might review national oceans policy, including the achievements and shortcomings of the existing policy, and the spectrum of emerging issues in the maritime domain that will affect Australia's national interest.
Regional maritime security
14. Australia should continue to play an active role in promoting regional maritime security, with a renewed focus on maritime confidence and security building measures and preventive diplomacy. Relevant measures might include greater transparency with naval budgets and new naval capabilities, as well as agreed processes for reducing the risks of 'intruder' submarine incidents.
15. Australia should take a leading role in promoting regional cooperation to deal with less immediate security threats, including climate change, rising sea levels, marine pollution and ocean acidification. Measures to deal with such threats should have priority in our international aid programs.
Infrastructure and capacity
National maritime infrastructure
16. The current study of the adequacy of Australia's infrastructure, by Infrastructure Australia, should address Australia's current and future maritime infrastructure needs by identifying significant weaknesses, highlighting commercial opportunities and recognising the importance of enhancing our understanding of our oceans.
Shipping
17. The benefits of coastal shipping, including intermodal aspects, require close attention in our future national infrastructure planning.
A national fleet
18. An independent study should be conducted of Australia's requirements for bluewater capabilities for maritime policing, patrol and scientific research. Naval war-fighting capabilities should not be included, but the study should take into account the Australian Defence Force's contribution to civil maritime tasks. The study should be sponsored by the Associate Secretary (National Security and International Policy) in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, pending the establishment of the Office of Oceans and Maritime Affairs.
Human resources
19. Secondary education in maritime affairs should be promoted by Australian educational authorities and Australian marine industries. Dedicated "Ocean High Schools" might also be considered.
A full version of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI)'s publication, Sea Change: Advancing Australia's ocean interests is available at the ASPI website or click here to be taken directly to the publication's site.