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32 AUSTRALIAN MARITIME ISSUES 2006: SPC-A ANNUAL
and other civil maritime law enforcement agencies. (These latter two concerns, if not
addressed in a careful fashion, could have unfavourable implications for funding of
future navy force structures and budgets.) Finally, there is the concern that the 1000-
Ship Navy shorthand title of the initiative does not accurately reflect a concept that
explicitly encompasses more than just navies. Accordingly, the USN in late September
2006 adopted a new official name, Global Maritime Partnership, for this initiative.
Implementing the Global Maritime Partnership
As the USN moves to actual implementation of this concept, there are several possible
frameworks for implementation. First, it may be useful for the USN to categorise its
efforts in terms of Blue Water Navies (Global Partners), Green Water Navies (Regional
Partners) and Coastal Navies (Sub-regional Partners) — notwithstanding inevitable
differences over which category best describes some national maritime forces. Second,
it would be advisable to establish a building block approach to assess and leverage
various existing regional maritime cooperation initiatives into the context of a broader
global network. Third, there is much work to be done to identify how the USN can best
engage and lead the integration of interagency and private maritime sector partners.
Fourth, there is a need to identify the availability of technology (e.g. data fusion) and
also to ensure realistic basic technology/interoperability requirements for the various
categories of navies to participate in the global maritime network, with the caution that
the best is often the enemy of the good enough in this area. Finally, internally the USN
staff, specifically N3/N5, with its lead role in drafting the Global Maritime Cooperation
Strategy, will need to provide a focal point for coordinating and implementing the
1000-Ship Navy initiative, both within the USN and in the broader interagency and
international arenas. Within the USN some potential important coordination roles
include being the clearinghouse / coordinator / integrator at the global level for the
regional USN Component Commanders’ theatre maritime security cooperation plans;
providing strategic templates for assistance (e.g. model Navy Transformation Plans)
to emerging coastal maritime forces; aligning the Security Assistance programs of
the USN International Programs Office; coordinating training assets with the US
Coast Guard International Programs Office; and coordinating maintenance assistance
planning for relevant international maritime partners with the USN Naval Sea Systems
Command.
RAN Leadership Views on the 1000-Ship Navy Concept
RAN Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Russ Shalders clearly outlined his views on the concept
as part of a March 2006 article in the US Naval Institute Proceedings:
• The 1000-Ship Navy concept builds on the historic common interest of mariners
and is a logical extension of the outcomes of globalisation.