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The Importance of the Indian Ocean: Trade, Security and Norms – The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute

The Importance of the Indian Ocean: Trade, Security and Norms


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Pabasara Kannangara, Adam Collins and Barana Waidyatilake*
This LKI Explainer examines the winder aspects of the indian Ocean region and its importance. It highlights some of the emerging challenges faced by the region and introduces UNCLOS as vital framework to regulate nautical natural process.

    Contents

1. What is the Indian Ocean Region?

  • The indian Ocean region consists of 28 states, spans across three continents and covers 17.5 % of ball-shaped land sphere .
  • These 28 countries include 21 members of the indian Ocean Rim Association ( Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, India, Indonesia, Iran, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen ), and Brunei, Cambodia, the Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Timor-Leste and Vietnam .
  • In 2017, this region was home to 35.0 % of the earth ’ mho entire population ( 2.6 billion people ) .

figure 1 : The indian Ocean Economy


generator : LKI

Why is the Region Important?

2.1 Rich Resource Base

  • 1 The amerind Ocean holds 16.8 % of the worldly concern ’ second prove oil reserves and 27.9 % of test natural gasoline reserves
  • 2 indian Ocean economies accounted for 35.5 % of global iron production and 17.8 % of global gold product in 2017
  • The region was besides responsible for 28 % of global fish capture in 2016, and there has been a continuous increase in pisces capture in the area since the 1950s .
    • This has created a successful footing for export industries in a number of countries. For exercise, Indonesia and India accounted for around 4.5 % of global freeze fish exports in 2017 .
  • This abundance of natural resources, among early factors, has facilitated trade-led growth within this region .

2.2 Maritime Trade

  • The indian Ocean is home to major ocean routes connecting the Middle East, Africa and East Asia with Europe and the Americas .
  • These full of life sea routes ( i ) facilitate maritime trade in the indian Ocean region, ( two ) carry more than half of the world ’ s sea-borne oil,3 and ( three ) host 23 of the world ’ s top 100 container ports .
  • container traffic through the region ’ randomness ports has increased fourfold from 46 million TEUs in 2000 to 166 million TEUs in 2017 .
    • According to the 2017 Lloyd ’ second List, the lead indian Ocean container ports are Singapore ( 34 million TEUs ), Dubai ( 15 million TEUs ) and Port Klang in Malaysia ( 13 million TEUs ) .
  • between 2011 and 2017, the average annual growth of container traffic through the run regional ports of Singapore and Dubai has averaged 2.6 % and 3.8 %, respectively .
    • interestingly, smaller ports have experienced greater growth than larger ports in the area, such as the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka and Mombasa in Kenya, which averaged 6.1 % and 8.8 %, respectively .
  • Increased connectivity within the area has strengthened ties with external trading partners .
    • China has emerged as the most important trading partner of the indian Ocean region, accounting for 16.1 % of its total goods trade in 2017, up from 4.8 % in 2000 .
    • On the other hand, between 2000 and 2017 the share of trade has declined with other major partners such as the EU ( 16.8 % to 12.0 % ), the US ( 13.9 % to 7.9 % ), and Japan ( 14.6 % to 6.5 % ) .
  • Intra-regional trade is even stronger, accounting for 27.2 % of total trade in 2017 .

2.3 Emerging Threats

  • freedom of navigation is vital for the smooth flow of indian Ocean nautical trade but threats such as rival among great powers, nontraditional security threats, and environmental abasement remain .
  • Piracy and drug traffic are gaining traction within the area .
    • 4 In 2012, 200 kilogram of heroin was trafficked on the amerind Ocean maritime trade wind routes. This increased to about 4500 kilogram of heroin trafficked between May 2015 and May 2016.
    • 5 Out of a entire of 180 global incidents of piracy, 84 ( 46.7 % of the global total ) occurred within this region in 2017 undermining the base hit and the security of nautical trade and other related activities .
  • environmental abasement besides poses a menace to the growth of the region. Unsustainable practice of marine resources may lead to rapid depletion of fish stocks and other minerals.
    • This could adversely impact the area ’ s economic prosperity as some major economies depend on these resources to stimulate trade and economic growth .
  • The miss of a regional maritime security architecture has prompted major powers to compete for dominance over these resources and sea-lanes .
    • The promote escalation of such geopolitical tensions, as seen in the South China Sea, would threaten the receptiveness of the area ’ second sea routes, which in turn may disrupt trade and adversely affect department of energy dependent nations like Sri Lanka .

3. The Law of the Seas

  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) 6 is an international treaty which was adopted and signed in 1982. The Convention has become the legal framework for global marine and maritime activities, and is known as the ‘ Constitution of the Seas. ’
  • Since its borrowing, 167 states have joined the treaty, out of which 25 are indian Ocean states. lone three—Cambodia, Iran and the UAE—are not party to the treaty .
  • The Convention aims to delineate all ocean space into unlike nautical zones and sets forth the rights and duties of States in their activities within each of those maritime zones .
  • It divides the ocean into six different zones namely; Internal waters, Contiguous Zone, Territorial Sea, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and High Seas.7
  • 8 The main institutions established by the Convention include :
    • The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ;
    • The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ; and
    • The International Seabed Authority .
  • As this convention forms the core of ocean government, indian littoral states and maritime users can use this as a initiation for ensuring freedom of seafaring and stability in the indian Ocean .

4. Key Readings 

Wignaraja, G., Collins, A. and Kannangara, P. ( 2018 ). Is the amerind Ocean Economy a new Global Growth Pole ?. Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute Working Paper Series. available at : hypertext transfer protocol : //mindovermetal.org/en/publication/is-the-indian-ocean-economy-a-new-global-growth-pole/
UN General Assembly, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. 10 December 1982. available at : hypertext transfer protocol :

Notes

1 british Petroleum ( 2017 ). BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2017. [ on-line ] pp.12-34. available at : hypertext transfer protocol : //calculators.io/statistical-review-of-world-energy/ .
2 Bgs.ac.uk. ( 2018 ). World Mineral Statistics Data | Statistics & Commodities | MineralsUK. [ on-line ] Available at : hypertext transfer protocol : //www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsUK/statistics/wms.cfc ? method=listResults & dataType=Production & commodity=71 & dateFrom=2015 & dateTo=2016 & country= & agreeToTsAndCs=agr .
3 Cordner, L. ( 2010 ), “ Rethinking Maritime Security in the indian Ocean Region. ” Journal of the Indian Ocean Region, 6 ( 1 ), pp.69 .
4 Janes ( 2017 ). Drug trafficking routes proliferate through indian Ocean. Jane ’ s Intelligence Review. [ on-line ] pp.1-5. available at : hypertext transfer protocol :
5 ICC International Maritime Bureau ( 2018 ). 2017 annual Report on Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships. [ on-line ] Available at : hypertext transfer protocol : //www.icc-ccs.org/reports/2017-Annual-IMB-Piracy-Report.pdf
6 UN General Assembly, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea .10 December 1982. available at hypertext transfer protocol :
7 Sites.tufts.edu. ( 2018 ). chapter 2 : Maritime Zones – Law of the Sea. [ on-line ] Available at : hypertext transfer protocol : //sites.tufts.edu/lawofthesea/chapter-two/ [ Accessed 5 Oct. 2018 ] .
8 James, H. ( 2015 ). 17 The law of the Sea Convention Institutions. The Oxford Handbook of the Law of the Sea. available at : hypertext transfer protocol :

Abbreviations
TEU Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit
EU European Union
US United States
UNCLOS United Nations Convention of the Sea
EEZ Exclusive Economic zone
∗ Pabasara Kannangara is a research Associate at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations ( LKI ). Barana Waidyatilake and Adam Collins are Research Fellows at LKI. The opinions expressed in this article are the authors ’ own views. They are not the institutional views of LKI, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the position of any other initiation or individual with which the authors are affiliated .

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