Revista Sextante

Emerging Maritime Threats and Their Implications for Regional Security Cooperation

Oluwaseun Adebayo-Lindgren

Pacific and Indian Ocean Security Research Centre, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Keywords: maritime threats, regional security cooperation, maritime security, grey-zone activity, maritime cybersecurity

Abstract

The maritime domain is central to trade, energy, communications and the security of states, yet it is increasingly exposed to threats that cross national boundaries and the traditional divisions between defence, law enforcement and environmental protection. This article examines emerging maritime threats and their implications for regional security cooperation. Drawing on maritime security studies, regional security complex theory, cooperation theory and policy research, it analyses piracy and maritime crime, illegal fishing and resource competition, cyber and technological threats, grey-zone activity, and environmental hazards, and it reviews the institutions through which states cooperate. The analysis indicates that threats are diverse, interconnected and evolving faster than many cooperative arrangements, and that effective regional responses depend on trust, inclusive institutions, information sharing, capacity building and risk-reduction measures. Limitations include divergent threat perceptions, great-power rivalry, uneven capacity and limited evidence of effectiveness. An illustrative figure summarises the expected gap between threat severity and cooperation capacity.