Blue Security

The Blue Security Program is a collaboration between La Trobe Asia, UNSW Canberra, @usstudiescentre.bsky.social, @defenceuwa.bsky.social & Asia-Pacific Development, Diplomacy & Defence Dialogue. Blue Security receives funding support from DFAT.
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Advancing Blue Economy initiatives could foster improved maritime security, leveraging the symbiotic relation between development and stability.

Maritime disputes, criminal activities, and great power competition, particularly in the South China Sea, pose significant threats to Blue Economy outcomes and undermine regional cooperation, deter investment, and hinder sustainable development.

While ASEAN has made significant strides in articulating a collective vision for the Blue Economy through the 2021 Leaders’ Declaration and the 2023 ASEAN Blue Economy Framework these initiatives largely sidestep the region’s complex security challenges.

This issue explores the critical interplay between maritime security and the Blue Economy in Southeast Asia, emphasising that regional economic aspirations are intertwined with geopolitical realities.

OUT NOW Maritime Affairs Issue 15 | Maritime Security and the Blue Economy in Southeast Asia: Linkages, Impacts and Prospects by @prakashg.bsky.social & Lucky Wuwung

YouTube video by Blue Security Maritime Indonesia: Issues of Navigation and a Rules-based Maritime Order

The recording of our 'Maritime Indonesia: Issues of Navigation and a Rules-based Maritime Order' webinar is now live! Thank you to our speakers John Bradford, Chulanee Attanayake, Muhamad Arif and Aristyo Darmawan for their insights.

🔗Watch now: youtu.be/aTrPrL4YcpY?...

One Week Away! | Maritime #Indonesia: Issues of Navigation and a Rules-based Maritime Order🌊
Unpack #Maritime Affairs Issues 13 and 14 on Tuesday 19 August with John Bradford, Aristyo Darmawan, Chulanee Attanayake and Muhamad Arif.
5:30pm AEST | 3:30pm SGT
Register:
latrobe.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Maritime #Indonesia: Issues of Navigation and a Rules-based Maritime Order
Join us for a panel that will unpack #Maritime Affairs Issues 13 and 14 on Tuesday 19 August - not to be missed!
Time: 5:30 – 6:30pm AEST | 3:30pm SGT
Register now via Zoom: latrobe.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

The Blue Security Program is a collaboration La Trobe Asia, UNSW Canberra, @usstudiescentre.bsky.social , @defenceuwa.bsky.social & Asia Pacific 4 D. Blue Security receives funding support from DFAT.

Download Issue 14 here: www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/asset...

Policy implications exist for Indonesia’s long-term strategic behaviour, the dilemma Indonesia’s strategic culture presents for external powers & how Aust should best strategically engage with SEA in a manner that does not undermine Indonesia’s leadership or territorial integrity

One strain is inward-looking, driven by a sense of vulnerability and focused narrowly on Indonesia’s territorial integrity as an archipelagic state and domestic development agenda. The other is outward-looking, driven by Indonesia’s sense of regional entitlement.

This issue examines how Indonesia’s #maritime policies have been made within the context of strategic culture, in which two strains, shaped by different interpretations of its geography and strategic history, coexist in tension.

OUT NOW Maritime Affairs Issue 14 | Strategic culture and Indonesian approach to maritime “rules-based order” by Muhamad Arif.

Weekend Reading | This new issue by John Bradford & Aristyo R. Darmawan explores the historical and strategic nature of the differences between Indonesia and the major maritime states, focusing on their differing views on freedom of navigation in archipelagic waters.

The Blue Security Program is a collaboration La Trobe Asia , Griffith Asia Institute, UNSW Canberra, @usstudiescentre.bsky.social‬, @defenceuwa.bsky.social‬ & Asia Pacific 4 D. Blue Security receives funding support from DFAT.

The article concludes with recommendations to the latter such that they may preserve their interests and advance cooperation with Indonesia while avoiding the elements of “navigation” issues that could otherwise shipwreck those relationships.
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Bradford & Darmawan describe three historic cases where these divergences have flared to become diplomatic incidents, and it examines points of friction that could adversely impact Indonesia’s future relationships with status quo sea powers.

This issue explores the historical and strategic nature of the differences between Indonesia and the major maritime states, focusing on their differing views on freedom of navigation in archipelagic waters.

OUT NOW Maritime Affairs Issue 13 | Avoiding “Navigation” as an Issue that Shipwrecks Indonesia’s Relationships with the Status Quo Sea Powers by @marsecbradford.bsky.social‬ & Aristyo Darmawan.

The Blue Security Program is a collaboration La Trobe Asia , Griffith Asia Institute, UNSW Canberra, United States Studies Centre, @defenceuwa.bsky.social & Asia Pacific 4 D. Blue Security receives funding support from DFAT.

Blue Security Maritime Fellow Dr Dela Cruz develops the argument by examining how states have deployed historical narratives in asserting the legal status of archipelagos. Download it here: www.latrobe.edu.au/__data/asset...

Historical narratives have played a significant role in how states assert their rights and entitlements in the law of the sea before and after the adoption of the Convention.

OUT NOW Maritime Affairs Issue 12 | Making History, Making Archipelagos: A Parallel South China Sea Dispute by @alexpdelacruz.bsky.social looks at the relationship between the LOS Convention and the construction of historical narratives to support maritime claims.

NEW Maritime Affairs Issue 11 | Great analysis from @cynthia-mehboob.bsky.social & @fitbintim.bsky.social which highlights how cable repair and maintenance rules—like licensing and permits—are used politically and can influence the region's digital future.

@drtlee-brown.bsky.social
is the Program Manager. Blue Security receives funding support from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade.

Blue Security is led by @becstrating.bsky.social La Trobe Asia, Peter Dean United States Studies Centre,
@drianhall.bsky.social Griffith Asia Institute,
@djag2.bsky.social UNSW Canberra,
@mconleytyler.bsky.social AP4D and @defenceuwa.bsky.social.

This paper examines ASEAN SCS claimants’ cable protection regimes, arguing that fixing key gaps is vital for resilient subsea cables and secure digital connectivity. It calls for stronger regional cooperation, public-private ties, and robust policy frameworks.

This analysis highlights how cable repair and maintenance rules—like licensing and permits—are used politically. When filtered through China’s broad maritime claims, these technical processes reinforce power imbalances and influence the region’s digital future.

OUT NOW Maritime Affairs Issue 11 | Securing Our Data: Subsea Cables and Maritime Security in Southeast Asia by @cynthia-mehboob.bsky.social & @fitbintim.bsky.social.
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