New Maritime Strategy

Campus Report ^ | October 9, 2007 | Nirmala Punnusami

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New Maritime Strategy

by: Nirmala Punnusami, October 09, 2007

A two-day conference entitled, “A New Maritime Strategy” at The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on September 26, 2007, organized by The Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, hosted a multiplicity of panelists, many in uniform, who spoke about several crucial issues, ranging from rationale for a new maritime strategy to the need for developing critical skills for naval personnel to meet 21st century challenges.

The Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Plans and Strategy from the United States Navy, Vice Admiral John C. Morgan Jr. set the stage and tone for the overall conference, by highlighting major themes and key questions. In his keynote address, he set forth the rationale for a new maritime strategy. In doing this, he “outlined the key issues and trends that underpin its development,” and he examined the new strategy to advance maritime security, and broaden U.S. national security.

As the day progressed, several panelists, including the Executive Vice President of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, Dr. Jacqueline K. Davis, “examined the key elements of the unpredictable security setting that now confronts the U.S. and how “they may affect stability and security throughout the global maritime domain.” They referred specifically, to the “existing and emerging threats and challenges” such as terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, cyber warfare, piracy and large scale disasters. Special mention was made of the security setting after 9/11.