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The 1000-Ship Navy Global Maritime Partnership Initiative
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• The concept articulates well the value of addressing maritime security in a
collaborative fashion … and recognises the many capacity building activities
already under way on a regional basis.
• RAN involvement in the successful Pacific Patrol Boat program is an example
of the type of regional initiative that the concept espouses, as are bilateral and
multilateral exercises.
• The concept acknowledges the many users of the sea and the diverse agencies
involved in maritime security. A whole-of-government approach to maritime
security is at varying stages of development around the globe. It is perhaps the
biggest opportunity and challenge proffered by the concept.
• In Australia, establishment of a Joint Offshore Protection Command — a collaborative
Defence-Customs organisation led by a navy admiral and established within the
Australian Customs Service — is an example of one nation’s solution to interagency
coordination.
• Perhaps the greatest challenge in globalising the effort to secure the sea will be
to generate the necessary mindset, trust and transparency. There are potential
sovereignty, legal and technical issues, but with time these can be addressed.
• From the RAN perspective, we look favourably on any initiative that increases
maritime security awareness and cooperation. In my view, this is the true value
of the 1000-Ship Navy concept. We are on board and willing to pursue the ideas
outlined.
With these views in mind, it should come as no surprise that subsequently Vice
Admiral Shalders confirmed support of the 1000-Ship Navy following discussions
at the November 2006 biennial Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS) heads of
navies meeting. 6
Lessons From USN–RAN Cooperation
The USN and the RAN have a long history of naval cooperation, which provides some
relevant lessons of use to the development and implementation of broader global
maritime cooperation and coordination. These lessons begin with the value of the
longstanding nature of mutual maritime cooperation, and the special bonds developed
in actual wartime Alliance operations (World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War
and Iraq). Closely related is the value of routine peacetime training and exercising
together (and a common commitment to interoperability). All of this is underpinned
by what the US and Australia share in terms of language, values and history, as well
as institutionalised security and defence planning linkages such as in ANZUS and
the Australia–US Ministerial Meetings. Of course, many of the nations in a broader
global maritime network will not and cannot share some of these valuable factual and