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118 australian maritime issues 2009: spc-a annual
the majority of current (and probably future) conflicts involve a combination of both
these planning paradigms. Conflicts are maritime, they are mostly conducted in the
littorals and they involve maritime expeditionary forces.
What is Maritime?
The word ‘maritime’ means different things to different people. Firstly maritime can
refer to the environment, in which case it includes: the surface of the sea, the water
column or sub-surface, the seabed, the air above the sea, as well as the land and air
space that can be influenced from the sea. 8 To simplify this a little, the maritime
environment includes both the sea and the littoral, albeit with some overlap. 9 An
alternative meaning for ‘maritime’ refers to something belonging to or associated
with the maritime environment. For example a maritime force is by nature joint and,
when operating in the littoral, includes all elements of the armed forces associated
with the maritime environment - it includes Air Force, Army and Navy elements.
LWD 1 The Fundamentals of Land Warfare mistakenly uses the two terms, ‘naval
forces’ and ‘maritime forces’ interchangeably, as they are entirely different entities. 10
Any Australian Army unit operating in the littorals, whether they are attached to an
amphibious force or simply embarked upon a single ship, are a part of a maritime force.
Australia’s littoral environment (RAN)