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The development of a distinct maritime school of strategic thought for Australia is an important initiative by the current Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, RAN. Griggs has explicitly attempted to surmount the intellectual obstacle posed by an increasingly sterile defence debate that has witnessed the growth of an expeditionary school of strategic thought as a counter to the longstanding continental school, dominant in Australian policy since 1986. Instead, Griggs has rejected the ‘binary’ approach of this debate to suggest an alternative, maritime, school.1 In so doing it is essential to pay due consideration to Australia’s strategic geography. The argument that follows states, for Australia, the ocean quite literally is inescapable.2 It establishes the strategic meaning of Australia’s geographical position in the context of both current and past international geopolitical circumstances, and related defence debates

The development of a distinct maritime school of strategic thought for Australia is an important initiative by the current Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Ray Griggs, RAN. Griggs has explicitly attempted to surmount the intellectual obstacle posed by an increasingly sterile defence debate that has witnessed the growth of an expeditionary school of strategic thought as a counter to the longstanding continental school, dominant in Australian policy since 1986. Instead, Griggs has rejected the ‘binary’ approach of this debate to suggest an alternative, maritime, school.1 In so doing it is essential to pay due consideration to Australia’s strategic geography. The argument that follows states, for Australia, the ocean quite literally is inescapable.2 It establishes the strategic meaning of Australia’s geographical position in the context of both current and past international geopolitical circumstances, and related defence debates

Although a consensus on the reality of climate change now prevails, the details of the problem remain unsettled. In particular, the precise local and regional impacts of the global phenomenon of climate change are unknown. The security-related consequences of such impacts are thus inherently speculative. Nevertheless, it has become an increasingly important aspect of the national security policy deliberations of many States, including both civil and defence force capability planning, to consider the potential security implications of climate change. Despite the prevailing uncertainty over specific impacts and their security implications, longrange planning can be undertaken based on the most likely types of consequences relevant to future national and regional security environments. In this way, potential security problems generated either directly or indirectly by climate change processes, and the capabilities required to respond to them, can be assessed in a generic sense. This chapter addresses the climate change implications for maritime security forces. Here, 'maritime security forces' is used primarily to refer to navies, although coast guards and other civilian sea-going enforcement agencies are also discussed.

Although a consensus on the reality of climate change now prevails, the details of the problem remain unsettled. In particular, the precise local and regional impacts of the global phenomenon of climate change are unknown. The security-related consequences of such impacts are thus inherently speculative. Nevertheless, it has become an increasingly important aspect of the national security policy deliberations of many States, including both civil and defence force capability planning, to consider the potential security implications of climate change. Despite the prevailing uncertainty over specific impacts and their security implications, longrange planning can be undertaken based on the most likely types of consequences relevant to future national and regional security environments. In this way, potential security problems generated either directly or indirectly by climate change processes, and the capabilities required to respond to them, can be assessed in a generic sense. This chapter addresses the climate change implications for maritime security forces. Here, 'maritime security forces' is used primarily to refer to navies, although coast guards and other civilian sea-going enforcement agencies are also discussed.

Maritime security is vital to Australia and its neighbours in the ASEANAustralia- India "triangle" - or the area of the northeast Indian Ocean. It has become a leading sphere for the construction of deeper forms of security cooperation. Nonetheless, both the "region" in question and the topic of maritime security itself are underdeveloped ideas in the context of rapidly developing relationships. Therefore, the approach pursued in this chapter focuses on four themes. First, the maritime nature of the area's geography is established. Second, different perspectives on maritime security are introduced, with an emphasis on non-traditional factors, including responses to the post- 9/11 threat of terrorism in the maritime domain. Third, Australia's maritime security engagement activities in the northeast Indian Ocean area are outlined. And finally, the ever present strategic considerations bearing on maritime security within the "triangle" area are considered, including the consequent strategic dilemmas facing Australia.

Maritime security is vital to Australia and its neighbours in the ASEANAustralia- India "triangle" - or the area of the northeast Indian Ocean. It has become a leading sphere for the construction of deeper forms of security cooperation. Nonetheless, both the "region" in question and the topic of maritime security itself are underdeveloped ideas in the context of rapidly developing relationships. Therefore, the approach pursued in this chapter focuses on four themes. First, the maritime nature of the area's geography is established. Second, different perspectives on maritime security are introduced, with an emphasis on non-traditional factors, including responses to the post- 9/11 threat of terrorism in the maritime domain. Third, Australia's maritime security engagement activities in the northeast Indian Ocean area are outlined. And finally, the ever present strategic considerations bearing on maritime security within the "triangle" area are considered, including the consequent strategic dilemmas facing Australia.

This volume was commissioned from the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong, to examine the implications for the RAN of the 2005 announcement by the US Navy of a ‘1000-ship Navy’. In August 2005 the Chief of Naval Operations of the US Navy, Admiral Mike Mullen, introduced a new concept for international naval and maritime cooperation, the ‘1000-ship Navy’. In November 2006, the Chief of the Australian Navy confirmed that the RAN supported the concept. This volume examines, in the Australian, regional and global contexts, the implications of the concept on maritime security and naval cooperation. In doing so, it examines what the concept is, how it fits within the US Navy’s policy and strategy framework; how this might work in practice; the implications for international naval cooperation; and the implications for Australia and the RAN.