1.3 Maritime areas between conflict, cooperation and protection

Where do many maritime conflicts originate?

in overlapping territorial claims, particularly where islands, reefs or continental shelves generate competing EEZ entitlements.

Ex Case studies of maritime conflicts over overlapping territorial claims

• The Eastern Mediterranean

• The Gulf of Mexico, A Sea caught in Geopolitics

Ex What case study illustrates how even allies van be on the brink of an armed confrontation over maritime boundaries

• The Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey and Greece dispute overlapping EEZ claims in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, case study, Mistrale complicated by the status of islands and the competing interests of Cyprus. Tensions peaked in 2020 when Turkish and Greek naval vessels shadowed each other during a standoff over hydrocarbon exploration rights, two NATO allies on the brink of armed confrontation over maritime boundaries.

Ex what case study illustrates how even well-established maritime spaces can become arenas of political contestation

•  The Gulf of Mexico, A Sea Caught in Geopolitics. The Gulf of Mexico is a semi-enclosed sea bordered by the United States, Mexico and Cuba, through which significant volumes of oil, gas and commercial shipping pass. In early 2025, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to refer to it as the "Gulf of America" on all official US maps and documents. The move was rejected by Mexico, whose President Claudia Sheinbaum reaffirmed the name "Gulf of Mexico" in use for over 400 years and presented historical maps to support her position. The United Nations and most international bodies continue to use the traditional name. While largely symbolic, the episode illustrates how naming and cartographic power can become instruments of geopolitical assertion, and how even well-established maritime spaces can become arenas of political contestation.

What remains a significant threat to international shipping ? What does this reflect?

Piracy, the illegal boarding, hijacking or attacking of vessels at sea, remains a significant threat to international shipping in certain regions, reflecting broader patterns of state fragility, poverty and ungoverned maritime space.

Ex Case studies of regions where piracy remains a significant threat to international shipping

• The Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden

• The Gulf of Guinea

Ex case study of piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden

Between 2008 and 2012, Somali pirates conducted hundreds of attacks on commercial vessels in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean, hijacking ships for ransom and disrupting one of the world's busiest shipping corridors. At its peak, piracy cost the global economy an estimated $7 billion per year in ransoms, rerouting, increased insurance premiums and naval deployments. The crisis was brought under control through international naval patrols (including EU Operation Atalanta), armed guards on vessels and improved Somali coastal governance but the underlying conditions of poverty and state fragility remain.

Ex cas e study of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea

Piracy has since shifted to the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa, which now accounts for the majority of global piracy incidents. Unlike Somali pirates who sought ransom, Gulf of Guinea pirates typically rob vessels of cargo and equipment, a reflection of different local economic conditions. Nigeria, Benin and surrounding states have struggled to police their vast maritime spaces

Beyond specific disputes what broader pattern is reshaping maritime spaces globally?

a broader pattern of naval rearmament and military competition is reshaping maritime space globally, as major powers compete for influence over strategic waterways and ocean resources

Ex what is a case study of the fact that a a broader pattern of naval rearmament and military competition is reshaping maritime space globally, as major powers compete for influence over strategic waterways and ocean resources?

The Red Sea and Houthi Attacks (2023-present). Since late 2023, Yemen's Houthi rebels have launched sustained drone and missile attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, in response to the conflict in Gaza. By early 2024, most major shipping companies had suspended Suez Canal transits, rerouting around the Cape of Good Hope and adding 10-14 days to Europe-Asia voyages. A US-led multinational naval force (Operation Prosperity Guardian) was deployed to protect shipping but proved unable to fully suppress the attacks. This episode illustrates how a localised armed conflict can rapidly weaponise a critical maritime chokepoint, with global economic consequences.

What remains the only sustainable alternative to conflict over maritime areas? What is it’s limits?

Effective governance through UNCLOS, multilateral cooperation and International institutions, but it is increasingly strained by the rivalries of major powers.

Why are oceans important?

connect all continents and carry around 90% of global trade by volume. They are crossed by commercial shipping routes, submarine cables and energy flows that are essential to the functioning of the global economy

Why can no single state adress the problems that threaten oceans? So what is international cooperation required for?

Because maritime challenges like piracy, pollution, illegal fishing, accidents and geopolitical disputes frequently occur beyond national borders. International cooperation is therefore necessary to guarantee freedom of navigation, combat piracy and organised crime, coordinate search and rescue operations, protect submarine cables and critical infrastructure, and manage shared marine resources sustainably. Bmaritime security is a global good public good that requires effort to maintain

What does international maritime cooperation rest on ?

a network of treaties, organisations and multilateral operations.

What are the important treaties , organisation and multilateral operations that create a network allowing international cooperation?

• UNCLOS

• ISA

• IMO

• MARPOL

UNCLOS and ISA

United nations convention of the law of the sea1982 is the cornerstone of maritime governance. Ratified by over 160 states, it defines maritime zones , guarantees freedom of navigation and establishes the rights and responsibilities of coastal states. It also created the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which regulates mineral extraction on the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction,

IMO and MARPOL

The International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialised UN agency founded in 1948, sets binding international standards on shipping safety, pollution prevention (including the MARPOL Convention on marine pollution) and maritime security. Its regulations ensure that the roughly 50,000 merchant ships operating globally do so according to common rules, facilitating trade and reducing environmental damage.

Besides international maritime cooperation what other cooperation can there?

• Cooperation also operates at sea in coordinated maritime actions

• Scientific cooperation is equally important: states share oceanographic data, monitor climate change impacts on sea levels and currents, coordinate responses to maritime disasters, and collaborate on the management of fisheries and marine biodiversity

Ex of successful coordinated maritime action

Following the surge in Somali piracy after 2008, multinational naval missions including EU Operation Atalanta and the US-led Combined Task Force 151 began escorting merchant vessels and patrolling the Gulf of Aden. The results were significant: pirate attacks in the region fell from over 230 in 2011 to fewer than 5 by 2019

Ex of scientific cooperation on the management of fisheries and marie biodiversity

the Convention on Biological Diversity and the landmark High Seas Treaty signed in 2023, which aims to protect 30% of international waters by 2030.

Despite achievements in maritime cooperation…

…ocean governance faces significant and growing challenges.

• States frequently have competing economic and geopolitical interests that make cooperation difficult.

• A deeper strctural problem is that international organisations generally lack enforcement powers

• the emergence of new actors complicates governance

Ex What demonstrates that international law is only effective when states choose to comply with it. ,

• The South China Sea : despite UNCLOS providing a legal framework, China has refused to recognise a binding 2016 arbitration ruling and continues to assert expansive maritime claims,

Ex that demonstrates that a localised armed conflict can rapidly paralyse a critical maritime corridor, even in the presence of multinational naval forces.

• the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea from late 2023 showed Operation Prosperity Guardian proved unable to fully suppress the threat.

A deeper structural problem is that international organisations generally lack enforcement powers

• The IMO can set standards but cannot compel compliance.

• The UN Security Council can authorise naval operations but is frequently paralysed by the veto powers of permanent members .

• Governance of the high seas which lie beyond any national jurisdiction remains particularly weak, with illegal fishing, pollution and deep-sea mining largely under-regulated.

Ex : the emergence of new actors complicates maritime governance and challenge the existing multilateral framework.

• China's growing naval presence across the Indo-Pacific

• , private military contractors operating at sea

• the increasing involvement of non-Arctic states in polar regions

Why is international cooperation indispensable for maritime governance

 No state, however powerful, can unilaterally ensure the safety of global shipping lanes, prevent marine pollution or manage shared fish stocks. The limitations of multilateral governance are real but the alternative, a purely competitive scramble for maritime resources and routes, would be far more destabilising.

What growing threats are oceans facing?

unprecedented pressure from human activities, and the scale of degradation is accelerating.

• Overfishing

• Plastic pollution

• Climate change

Overfishing is a threat to the ocean

one of the most acute threats: the FAO estimates that over 35% of global fish stocks are now overexploited, compared to 10% in the 1970s. Industrial fishing fleets equipped with sonar and factory processing capabilities can deplete fish populations faster than they can recover, threatening both marine biodiversity and the food security of billions of people.

Plastic pollution is a threat to the oceans

has become a defining environmental crisis of the 21st century. Around 8-10 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans every year. Plastics break down into microplastics - tiny particles that enter the marine food chain, accumulate in fish and seafood, and are now found in the tissues of marine mammals, seabirds and humans. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a vast accumulation of floating debris between California and

Hawaii, covers an area estimated at 1.6 million

climate change is a threat to oceans

Climate change is transforming ocean chemistry and temperature. Rising sea temperatures are causing coral bleaching on a massive scale. Ocean acidification (caused by the absorption of CO2) threatens shellfish, coral and the entire marine food chain. The retreat of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice is disrupting polar ecosystems and accelerating sea-level rise. Generates climate injustice

Ex place affected by bleaching events

The Great Barrier Reef has experienced five mass bleaching events since 1998

Climate injustice

environmental changes fall disproportionately on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), whose economies depend heavily on fisheries, tourism and healthy marine ecosystems, yet which contribute less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. They face an acute problem of climate injustice: bearing the heaviest consequences of a crisis they did not cause.

Ex sids that are victims of climate injustice

• Tuvalu

• Madives

• Fiji

What is a consequence of the fact that marine ecosystems extend far beyond national borders?

protecting the oceans requires international cooperation at a scale and ambition that has historically been lacking but that is now beginning to emerge.

What is the most significant development in protecting oceans through international cooperation because marine ecosystems extend far beyond national borders?

The High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement, 2023), formally the Agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), adopted at the United Nations in June 2023 and entering into force on 17 January 2026. This landmark agreement addresses a critical gap in ocean governance: until now, the high seas, which cover approximately 60% of the ocean's surface and lie beyond any national jurisdiction, had almost no legal protection framework.

What are the three major mechanisms established by the high seas treaty?

• The creation of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the high seas, where fishing, mining and other extractive activities can be restricted or banned

• The promotion of environmental impact assessments before any new industrial activity is permitted in international waters

• The fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from marine genetic resources, biological material from deep-sea organisms that has significant commercial potential in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

What goal is the high seas treaty central to achieving? Why is this goal important?

the international 30x30 target protecting 30% of the world's oceans by 2030, agreed at the COP15 biodiversity summit in Montreal in 2022. Currently, only around 8% of the ocean is under some form of protection, and much of that is poorly enforced.

What can be complementary to the global agreement that is the high seas treaty?

Regional organisations. regional cooperation can complement global agreements by addressing the specific conditions of particular marine environments.

Ex of regional organisations that play a complementary role to global agreements by addressing the specific conditions of particular marine environments.

• the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration, the Commonwealth with many SIDS members has committed to combating climate change, pollution and the overexploitation of marine resources. At the Commonwealth Ocean Ministers' Meeting in Mombasa, Kenya (June 2026), ministers reaffirmed their support for implementing the High Seas Treaty and achieving the 30x30 target, reflecting the particular urgency felt by island and coastal developing nations.

• the OSPAR Convention (protecting the North-East Atlantic),

• the Barcelona Convention (Mediterranean)

• the Nairobi Convention (East Africa and Indian Ocean)

How can existing MPAs be helpful for the high seas treaty?

By providing a model for what the High Seas Treaty aims to scale up globally. Some MPAs already demonstrate what effective protection can achieve, Studies consistently show that well-enforced MPAs allow fish populations to recover and biodiversity to increase

Ex of existing MPAs among the largest protected marine areas in the world that show what MPAs can acheive

• The Chagos Marine Protected Area in the Indian Ocean (though recently subject to a sovereignty agreement between the UK and Mauritius),

• the Gapagos Marine Reserve

• the Ross Sea MPA in Antarctica

Despite progress in protecting oceans …

…Effective ocean protection faces deep structural obstacles

What are the deep structural obstacles that effective ocean protection is facing?

• The ratificaiton and implementation gap

• Conflicting interests

• Climate change itself

The ratification and implementation gap

the most immediate problem. International agreements only become effective when states ratify them and translate them into national law.

Ex of The ratification and implementation gap

• Although the High Seas Treaty has entered into force, major maritime powers including China and the United States have not yet ratified it, significantly limiting its global reach.

• The United States has also never ratified UNCLOS itself, despite being the world's leading naval power.

Enforcement on the high seas (of ocean protection laws)

remains extremely difficult. No international body has the authority or resources to police 60% of the ocean. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing costs the global economy an estimated $10-23 billion per year and disproportionately affects developing countries whose fish stocks are plundered by distant-water fishing fleets, often with little consequence.

Conflicting interests (in protecting oceans)

between economic development and environmental protection remain a fundamental tension. Deep-sea mining, the extraction of polymetallic nodules and other minerals from the ocean floor, is expanding rapidly, driven by demand for the rare metals needed in batteries and electronics. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is under pressure to approve mining contracts before adequate environmental impact assessments have been completed, raising serious concerns among scientists and environmental groups

Climate change itself (ocean protection)

outpacing the international community's capacity to respond. Even if all existing ocean protection commitments were fully implemented, continued global warming will cause further coral bleaching, acidification and sea-level rise making protection increasingly difficult and the stakes increasingly high.

so, what does the future of oceans depend on?

not only on the existence of international agreements, but on the political will of states, particularly the most powerful to prioritise long-term environmental sustainability over short-term economic interests.