YCAPS is excited to announce it has launched a new collaborative research effort with the support of the Japan Transport and Tourism Reseach Institute (JTTRI).
Project Title: Opportunities for International Cooperation toward Improving Maritime Governance and Law Enforcement in the Pacific
Overview
UNCLOS assigns governance responsibilities over huge areas of ocean space to Pacific Island nations and territories. Much of this maritime area is rich in resources such as harvestable fish and the waters are essential to global ocean health. However, these states generally lack the resources (revenue, population, human capital, law enforcement vessels, etc.) needed to conduct the law enforcement activities necessary to provide good maritime governance.
The inadequacy of maritime governance in the Pacific enables a range of criminals and undesirable actors to conduct nefarious operations. Among the problematic activities are illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, slavery, smuggling, and environmental deprivation. These have immediate negative impacts on the well-being of Pacific island communities by destroying lives, preventing their economic activities, creating criminality ripple effects, exacerbating socio-economic challenges, and even directly threatening lives. Given the centrality of those waters to global ocean vitality and climate stability, the impacts are also global.
International partners are increasingly interested in making contributions to improve maritime governance and law enforcement in the Pacific. This is good news. If carefully thought through and well-developed, these contributions could be highly effective. However, they can also be poorly received or even counterproductive to the overall objectives related to building healthy communities. If international partners coordinate, they could create synergistically positive impacts. On the other hand, if they are uncoordinated or poorly coordinated, well-meaning projects can drain resources, create confusion or even be counterproductive.
These dynamics are becoming more complex as the region is becoming a field for international competition that is unrelated, or only indirectly related, to the concerns and priorities of Pacific Island communities. For example, China and Taiwan are competing for the states’ diplomatic recognition as a part of their quests for global standing. In another example, the United States and China are both seeking to establish military bases in the region while other states are seeking to become more embroiled in the region’s military security raising concerns that this ultimately makes the region a likely conflict zone while distracting from higher priorities.
This project will address these problems by studying opportunities for stakeholders to expand thier positive contributions to the Pacific region in a way that maximizes the value of those activities while minimizing undesirable consequences. It examines the needs of the Pacific island communities, regional sensitivities, priorities and opportunities for cooperation with other partners.
Team Members
Constantine Panayiotou, American Chamber of Commerce Fiji/YCAPS (Principal Investigator)
John Bradford, YCAPS (Project Supervisor)
Gabriela Wurst, YCAPS (Project Coordinator)
Expert Contributors
Maima Koro, Pacific Research Fellow for the Regional Perspectives Project, University of Adelaide (Pacific Island Concerns & Sensitivities Related to Cooperation with Global Powers)
Transform Aqorau, CEO, iTuna Intel (Maritime Threats in the Pacific)
Daniel Mandell, Former legal advisor, governmentof Palau (Legal Barriers Related to Cooperation with Global Powers)
Anthony Bergin, Senior Research Fellow at the National Security College, Australian National University (Australian Contributions)
Céline Pajon, Coordinator of the Program on Pacific Islands, IFRI (French Contributions)
Yurika Iishii, National Defense Academy, Japan (Japan Contributions)
Henrietta McNeill, Research Fellow (Pacific Security, Geopolitics, Regionalism), Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs, Australian National University (New Zealand Contributions)
Wooyeal Paik, Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Yonsei University (ROK Contributions)
Scott Edwards, Free & Open Indo-Pacific Fellow, YCAPS (UK Contributions)
Wade Jones, Pacific Islands Program Officer, US Institute for Peace (USA Contributions)
Brian Waidelich, Research Scientist at CNA Corporation and President, YCAPS USA (PRC Contributions)
Project Advisor
Jenna Heavenrich Lindeke, Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, Ocean Policy Research Institute
Collaboration with JTTRI
Previously, JTTRI has supported YCAPS research on Coast Guard cooperation and maritime security capacity-building best practices.