Study sheet: Maritime Power and Globalization

📋 Course Outline

1. Maritime power and globalisation
2. The Arctic as a contested frontier
3. Global shipping routes and chokepoints
4. Ocean resources and economic uses
5. Tourism, migration and piracy
6. Coastalisation and Indian Ocean rivalry
7. France as a maritime power
8. Maritime conflicts and the South China Sea
9. UNCLOS and maritime governance
10. Shipping emissions and future challenges

📖 1. Maritime power and globalisation

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Globalisation : Globalisation is the worldwide integration of economies and societies through flows of goods, people, money, and information.
• Oceans as spaces of trade and power : Oceans are strategic spaces where trade, resources, migration, conflict, and governance shape global power.
• Exclusive Economic Zone : An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) gives a coastal state specific resource rights up to 200 nautical miles while others keep navigation freedoms.
• Global Value Chains : Global Value Chains (GVCs) are production networks whose links depend on maritime transport for movement and timing.

📝 Essential Points

• 80–90% of world trade by volume travels by sea.
• Maritime routes underpin GVC links between major economies and continents.
• Coastal areas host 3 billion+ people within 100 km of a coast.
• Undersea cables carry 99% of global internet data, tying sea control to information connectivity.
• Maritime chokepoints can paralyse world trade when blocked.

💡 Memory Hook

Sea routes carry trade and data; control chokepoints and you steer both economies and internet connectivity.

📖 2. The Arctic as a contested frontier

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Arctic Council : The Arctic Council is a forum for cooperation on environmental protection and sustainable development among Arctic states and key participants.
• Core–Periphery model : The Core–Periphery model describes how a region can shift from remote periphery toward strategic competition as access and leverage increase.
• Polar Silk Road : Polar Silk Road is China’s vision to expand Arctic-linked shipping and infrastructure, positioning China from observer toward stakeholder.

📝 Essential Points

• The Arctic has 8 Arctic states: USA, Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Finland, Sweden.
• The Arctic contains ~90% of the world’s fresh water reserves as ice and has extreme polar night or midnight sun conditions.
• Arctic sea ice melt is accelerating new routes and resource extraction opportunities.
• Decisions at the Arctic Council require consensus of all 8 Arctic states.
• The Arctic has no military mandate within the Arctic Council framework.

💡 Memory Hook

Arctic Council = cooperation only; add melting + routes and you get geopolitics without turning the forum into a military bloc.

📖 3. Global shipping routes and chokepoints

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• TEU : A TEU is the standard unit (twenty-foot equivalent) used to measure container ship capacity.
• Primary shipping routes : Primary shipping routes are major intercontinental sea lanes that structure most container and commodity movements.
• Maritime chokepoint : A maritime chokepoint is a narrow, strategically vital passage where blocking the flow can disrupt large-scale trade networks.

📝 Essential Points

• 80–90% of manufactured goods are transported by sea.
• Container shipping’s standardisation supports speed and scalability across global networks.
• The Trans-Pacific route links Asia ↔ North America as a major backbone lane.
• The Europe–Asia route via the Suez Canal is central for Mediterranean and Middle East access.
• Disruption at a chokepoint drives alternative routing and can increase insurance costs.

💡 Memory Hook

Chokepoint block → reroute + higher risk costs (insurance) + delayed delivery across supply chains.

📖 4. Ocean resources and economic uses

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Living resources : Living resources are renewable ocean-based assets like fish and seafood supporting food security and fisheries economies.
• Non-living resources : Non-living resources include energy and seabed materials such as oil, gas, and minerals extracted from marine environments.
• Marine renewable energy : Marine renewable energy refers to electricity sources harvested from tides, waves, and offshore wind systems.

📝 Essential Points

• Oceans contain vast natural resources including fish, oil, gas, and minerals.
• Marine renewable energy can use tidal, wave, and offshore wind potential.
• Pharmaceutical resources can be derived from marine biology and drug discovery research.
• Sand and gravel extraction supplies construction materials through dredging.
• Control of EEZs can translate into control of resources, especially in contested areas.

💡 Memory Hook

EEZ control turns ocean stocks (fish, energy, minerals) into national leverage through resource rights.

📖 5. Tourism, migration and piracy

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Flag of Convenience : A Flag of Convenience is ship registration in a different country to reduce taxes and weaken labour and environmental regulations.
• Ocean Viking : Ocean Viking is SOS Méditerranée’s humanitarian rescue vessel operating in the Mediterranean for people in distress at sea.
• ReCAAP : ReCAAP is a regional anti-piracy cooperation agreement that promotes information sharing and capacity building against piracy and armed robbery in Asia.

📝 Essential Points

• Cruise ships can generate up to 110,000 L of sewage per day.
• Southampton is cited as having major port-city air pollution impacts with 23% of air pollution attributed to the example given.
• Oceans act as migration corridors including the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Aden, and Southeast Asian waters.
• UNCLOS creates obligations to assist persons in distress at sea even when migration deterrence is a goal.
• Piracy is described as being at its lowest level since the 1990s globally.

💡 Memory Hook

Opportunities vs threats: tourism harms ecosystems and labour, migration tests obligations to rescue, piracy targets shipping—same sea, different risks.

📖 6. Coastalisation and Indian Ocean rivalry

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Coastalisation : Coastalisation is the growing concentration of people and economic activity along coastal areas linked to jobs, trade, and resources.
• Interface : An interface is a large-scale zone where two or more independent systems meet and interact, such as land–sea or national–international boundaries.
• String of Pearls : String of Pearls is a strategy framing growing Chinese maritime presence in the Indian Ocean through a chain of port and access points.

📝 Essential Points

• Over 3 billion people live within 100 km of a coast and coastalisation intensifies pressure on ecosystems.
• Coastalisation increases strategic value through ports, fishing, and military surveillance and bases.
• Sri Lanka is described as sitting at the heart of Indian Ocean shipping lanes, making it strategically vital.
• China financed the Hambantota Port and obtained a 99-year lease after Sri Lanka could not repay the debt.
• India is alarmed by growing Chinese naval presence, framed as the String of Pearls strategy.

💡 Memory Hook

A small coastal hub (Sri Lanka) becomes leverage when its lanes sit on the main route network.

📖 7. France as a maritime power

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• French overseas territories : French overseas territories extend France’s presence across major oceans and underpin its maritime reach and interests.
• CATOBAR aircraft carrier : CATOBAR is a carrier design using electromagnetic catapults, enabling conventional fixed-wing operations from carriers.
• PANG : PANG is the New Generation Aircraft Carrier announced to replace France’s Charles de Gaulle around 2038.

📝 Essential Points

• France has the world’s 2nd largest EEZ (after the USA) at about 11 million km².
• France operates nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and is one of only two countries with CATOBAR carriers (USA and France).
• Charles de Gaulle is a nuclear-powered carrier carrying Rafale, Hawkeye E-2C, and Caracal/Cougar helicopters.
• PANG is announced by President Macron (December 2020) and is expected around 2038.
• France’s maritime strategy includes EEZ protection, freedom of navigation, anti-piracy operations, and protection of overseas territories.

💡 Memory Hook

Big EEZ + nuclear carriers → global reach for France across multiple oceans.

📖 8. Maritime conflicts and the South China Sea

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Freedom of Navigation Operations : Freedom of Navigation Operations are naval activities challenging excessive maritime claims by demonstrating navigation rights in disputed areas.
• Nine-Dash Line : The Nine-Dash Line is China’s claim framework covering roughly 80–90% of the South China Sea.
• Blue-Water vs Green-Water navy : A blue-water navy can operate across deep oceans far from home, while a green-water navy is mainly built for coastal and regional operations.

📝 Essential Points

• The South China Sea dispute involves competing claimants including Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan.
• A 2016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling is cited as finding China’s Nine-Dash Line illegal under UNCLOS.
• China built artificial islands and military bases, with Fiery Cross Reef cited for 2014–2018 development.
• The South China Sea is described as carrying about $3.4 trillion of trade annually and holding fishing and energy potential.
• USA conducts Freedom of Navigation Operations to challenge Chinese claims.

💡 Memory Hook

In the South China Sea: claim lines + artificial islands + UNCLOS legal pushback + FONOPs in the same contest loop.

📖 9. UNCLOS and maritime governance

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• UNCLOS : UNCLOS is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea that sets rights and responsibilities for states across maritime zones.
• Territorial Sea : The Territorial Sea is the belt of sea adjacent to a coast where the coastal state has full sovereignty subject to limited foreign passage rules.
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) rights : EEZ rights are coastal-state sovereign rights over resources up to 200 nautical miles while navigation freedoms remain for others.

📝 Essential Points

• UNCLOS was concluded at Montego Bay, Jamaica in 1982 and came into force in 1994.
• UNCLOS is ratified by 168 parties as of 2021 and described as the constitution of the oceans.
• Territorial Sea extends to 12 nautical miles with full sovereignty and innocent passage for foreign ships.
• The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles where the coastal state has resource rights and others keep freedom of navigation.
• The USA has not ratified UNCLOS even though it largely follows its principles.

💡 Memory Hook

Memorise distances: 12 nm sovereignty belt, 200 nm resource zone, beyond 200 nm = high seas governed internationally.

📖 10. Shipping emissions and future challenges

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Bunker fuel : Bunker fuel is heavy fuel oil widely used by ships and described as among the dirtiest fossil fuels.
• IMO 2050 target : IMO 2050 target is a shipping decarbonisation goal referenced as aiming for at least a 50% reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions.
• Alternative fuels : Alternative fuels are non-traditional energy sources for ships such as LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol mentioned in the course.

📝 Essential Points

• Shipping accounts for about 3% of global carbon emissions and would rank 6th largest emitter if it were a country.
• Most ships use bunker fuel, which is described as one of the dirtiest fossil fuels available.
• The IMO 2050 target referenced is at least 50% reduction in GHG emissions from shipping.
• WindWings is a fixed-wing sail system project with 17 partners cited in the source.
• Solutions mentioned include alternative fuels such as LNG, hydrogen, ammonia, and methanol.

💡 Memory Hook

Dirty input (bunker fuel) → decarb plan (IMO 2050 + new fuels + sails) to cut shipping emissions while routes stay competitive.

📅 Key Dates

1. 1982UNCLOS concluded at Montego Bay, Jamaica.
2. 1994UNCLOS came into force.
3. 1996Arctic Council established.
4. 2006ReCAAP established (HQ Singapore).
5. 2014Fiery Cross Reef artificial island development begins (2014 to 2018).
6. 20162016 Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on the Nine-Dash Line under UNCLOS.
7. 2017Hambantota Port lease after Sri Lanka could not repay the debt (99-year lease).
8. 2018Fiery Cross Reef development ends (2014 to 2018).
9. 2021Ever-Given blocks the Suez Canal in March 2021; UNCLOS summary notes parties and also the example’s date.
10. 2021CAOFA in force since 2021 with a 16-year ban on commercial fishing.

📊 Synthesis Tables

Maritime navies (blue-water vs green-water)

Type	Main operating zone	Power projection
Blue-Water Navy	Deep, open oceans far from home	Global reach and defence/assertion of maritime interests worldwide
Green-Water Navy	Coasts, regional seas, littoral zones	Limited global projection; most navies are designed for this

⚠️ Common Pitfalls & Confusions

1. Confusing piracy with Houthi attacks: Houthi attacks are described as armed attacks on commercial shipping rather than UNCLOS piracy when occurring in territorial/contiguous zones.
2. Mixing up UNCLOS zone distances: Territorial Sea is 12 nautical miles and EEZ is up to 200 nautical miles, while high seas start beyond the EEZ.
3. Assuming the Arctic Council has military authority: it promotes environmental cooperation with no military mandate and decisions require consensus.
4. Treating chokepoints as local problems: Suez, Malacca, and Bab-el-Mandeb disruptions are shown as immediately global economic events via trade and insurance impacts.
5. Forgetting that EEZ control is resource-driven: EEZ rights are mainly about sovereign resource rights plus rules affecting navigation for others.
6. Using the wrong navy label: blue-water is about operating across deep oceans far from home, not just coastal patrols.

✅ Exam Checklist

1. Explain why maritime areas matter for globalisation using at least two link mechanisms (trade, resources, migration, governance, cables).
2. Use the Arctic CS structure resources + routes + governance + geopolitics and include at least two stakeholders plus one concrete example route or project.
3. State what TEU measures and connect modern container scale to global trade connectivity.
4. Define a maritime chokepoint and describe why blocking one triggers rerouting and economic disruption.
5. List main categories of ocean resources (living and non-living) and give one concrete use for each category mentioned.
6. Analyse tourism–migration–piracy as a single tension showing opportunities and threats and name one specific factual detail for each.
7. Define coastalisation and explain how coasts create strategic leverage via ports, densities, and military value using one case from the Indian Ocean.
8. Describe France’s maritime power with its EEZ size and one carrier fact, then link its strategy to at least two listed mission types.
9. For maritime conflict, distinguish types of disputes and use the South China Sea case with Nine-Dash Line, UNCLOS ruling (2016), artificial islands, and FONOPs.
10. Recall UNCLOS core facts (conclusion/in-force dates and at least two zone distances/rights) and mention the USA’s ratification position.
11. Quantify the climate challenge for shipping (about 3% emissions and bunker fuel role) and link it to at least two solutions (IMO 2050 target and one technology or fuel).