ISS:Better knowledge can improve security in Western Indian Ocean

Although international donors have provided significant assistance, there are still no reliable regional maritime domain awareness structures in the Western Indian Ocean. In view of this, the EU Institute for Security Studies issued a policy brief, reviewing current activities to identify opportunities through low-tech solutions, human resources and collaboration for improvement of maritime domain awareness in the region.

ISS notes that in the Western Indian Ocean region, maritime security has become a particularly pressing concern. The majority of MDA functions in this region are not provided by African or regional actors, but rather by international actors like the European Union’s Naval Force Atalanta (EUNAVFOR Atalanta). Multilateral naval missions sent to the region respond to Somali-based piracy, conduct surveillance of regional waters, handle communications between law enforcement agencies and shipping traffic and coordinate responses to incidents or threats.

For the region to become independent from international navies, significant efforts are underway to develop regionally owned and operated structures.

Key points

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Maritime domain awareness (MDA), the effective understanding of maritime activities, is vital for maritime security. Despite the efforts of regional projects, such as the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Programme to Promote Regional Maritime Security (MASE), the Western Indian Ocean remains dependent on international navies for reliable MDA.
New priorities for regional MDA centres are required to ensure trust and reliability. Emphasis should be placed on lowtech solutions including the systematic collection of publicly available information and the gathering of human intelligence. National MDA structures must also be enhanced.
It remains unclear how regional initiatives relate to each other and can form a regional system. Also, areas of collaboration between maritime security and the blue economy need to be realised.

Conclusion

Take pragmatic steps and continue to invest

Building efficient and sustainable MDA structures, creating institutions and centres that are trusted and enhance coordination, and continuing training and other capacity building measures will decrease the dependency of the region on international actors. This in turn is key to ensure that maritime security and development of the blue economy is locally driven and owned.

These are not short-term goals. Long-term efforts and conversations about next steps are necessary. Not high-tech solutions, but pragmatic steps and creative solutions, are required.

The international community will have to continue to invest in regional structures, but, as this policy brief has argued, should carefully plan the priorities that are pursued. This will require greater investment in people and analytical capacities, as well as a re-think about which technologies are required and are appropriate in local contexts.

Given overall resource constraints, as well as the declining strategic interest of some international partners, more attention needs to be paid to orchestrating the various initiatives and programmes in order to develop a coherent integrated structure for all users of the regional waters.

Explore more by reading the official document herebelow: