2 - Maritime Geography, Law of the Sea and Geostrategy

Summary

Geography is a critical determinant of national strategy and plays an important role in its development process. The geographical profile, relative position on the globe and prevalent climatic conditions are the crucial indices and vital strategic factors that bestow upon any state its rightful position in the international system. While the indices of national power may vary over time in terms of capacity, capability and credibility, it is the permanency and constants of geography that confer nations with a sense of security and their relative position in international system. Notably, the crucial and vital indices of the geography provide states with a sense of resilience with determinism of their power and capabilities.

States inherit and develop strategic culture and behaviour derived from their location, topographical settings and environmental conditions that prevail in the geographical realm. The interrelationship among these is a critical determinant of the matrix of strategic culture and behaviours in international relations. States form different perspectives on the constants of geography and transact relationships and businesses based on their understanding of these constants to further national political, social, commercial and strategic ambitions. The ability of a state to correlate its geography into a cogent strategic thinking for an ambient vision would be the perfect example for strategic conduct in this age of globalization. It is not surprising then that Napoleon once observed, “The policy of a state lies in its geography.”

Economists, politicians, military and the strategic community highlight geography in their discussions since it provides clarity and helps them to understand and appreciate strategic relationships and requirements. States develop maritime strategy based on several critical inputs that include physical location, access to the seas, nature of coastline, quality of harbours, and position with respect to sources of raw materials, markets and trading routes. At the same time, constants of geography foster the development of naval power of the state. Naval practitioners develop strategy and plan force structure based on national maritime interests that could be regional or global. A variety of variables are at play when formulating force structure and include threat perceptions, the operational environment, hydrographic and hydrological conditions, the extent of sea space, size of littorals to be defended, and the shore and offshore maritime infrastructure to be protected.