Maritime security and the Blue Economy: intersections and interdependencies in the Indian Ocean

Maritime security is essential to supporting the Blue Economy. Many

maritime security forums have been key supporters of the Blue

Economy concept, particularly in the Indian Ocean region (IOR).

This paper will explore the co-evolution and co-dependence of

Blue Economy and maritime security agendas, with a particular

focus on the IOR. It identifies two primary interactions between

Blue Economy and maritime security interests. Firstly, maritime

security is an enabler of the Blue Economy, for example, through

safeguarding navigation routes, providing important oceanographic

data to marine industries and protecting rights over valuable

marine resources and activities within claimed zones of maritime

jurisdiction. Secondly, an often overlooked role that maritime

security plays in the Blue Economy is by being itself a source of

economic development and growth. An expanded Blue Economy

will create greater demand for maritime security capabilities, and

this, in turn, will trigger increased investment and growth in these

capabilities. The enhanced and increasingly diverse role that

maritime security will continue to play in the Blue Economy can

be seen across all sectors in the IOR.