The cyber-maritime security nexus and priorities for UK-Australian-ASEAN cooperation

those of the British government Integrated review of security, defence, development and foreign policies presents the Indo-Pacific as a region of increasing geopolitical and economic importance over the next decade, suggesting that competition will translate into “regional militarization, maritime tensions, and disputes over the rules and norms surrounding trade and technology.”

The contested and crowded oceans and connectivity links that make up the Indo-Pacific constitute an epicenter of great-power competition, with Southeast Asia at the center.

Closer cooperation with ASEAN is therefore an essential part of a strategy aimed at positioning the UK as a global player in the age of strategic competition. But Britain is not alone, and a growing number of other European countries are also reaffirming their position in the region.

Following the UK government’s announcement of moves to the Indo-Pacific, Britain became the newest ASEAN dialogue partner in 2021 (Australia was the first in 1974) and dispatched an aircraft carrier strike group to tour the Indo-Pacific. Operation Fortis was the UK’s largest operational naval deployment in Asia since the Hong Kong surrender in 1997.

Following the AUKUS announcement and given the UK’s broader maritime ambitions, how can the UK work with Australia to contribute to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific? What can they bring together to this crowded space? And how can “external powers” ​​work with ASEAN countries on areas of mutual interest while bypassing sensitivities and avoiding tensions?

In a new ASPI report released today, UK, Australia and ASEAN working together for safer seas: a case for strengthening the cyber-maritime security nexus, we identify cybersecurity and technology capacity building as priorities for UK-Australian-ASEAN cooperation on maritime security. This is a value-added area that leverages the strengths of the UK and Australia to foster partnerships with non-military actors and address civilian aspects of maritime security.

The list of cyber incidents affecting maritime security is slowly but steadily growing and includes malfunctioning of critical control systems, exfiltration of sensitive data, manipulation of systems to enable undetected trade and smuggling, commercial and military espionage, spoofing of navigation systems, and manipulation of identification transmissions. While the digitization and automation of processes has been a priority for the maritime industry, cybersecurity has lagged behind other comparable critical sectors of the global economy.

A first step toward cybersecurity is access to incident response resources. Some initiatives have been taken, including by Singapore’s port authority and maritime cybersecurity firms, but overall these efforts are just a drop in the bucket, given the scale of Southeast Asia’s maritime activities and the lack of an industry- and region-wide approach to and concern of risk.

Risks aside, digital and emerging technologies offer huge potential to the shipping industry. Access to “Maritime Big Data”, combined with applications based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, will help to make informed decisions about the most efficient routing; Accurate and reliable forecast of planned arrivals; docking, disembarking, forwarding and reloading; and insurance against risks related to maintenance and accidents.

The Verumar project in the Philippines identified nine groups of technologies that disrupt conventional fishing and other marine economic activities. Collecting and analyzing meteorological, oceanographic and hydrographic data supports efforts to support responsible fishing and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; trace of sea pollution; and monitoring of marine economic resources and biodiversity.

Strengthening maritime awareness capabilities through the adoption of digital technologies serves the common interests of the UK, Australia and ASEAN and their respective industries. The UK and Australia would be well placed to assume responsibility for setting standards in the development and deployment of these new technologies to reflect common standards and the needs of the Indo-Pacific maritime community.

The resilience of the maritime supply chain is emerging as a significant economic and security issue. The incident in 2021 in which MS Always given disrupted traffic in the Suez Canal, immediately reverberating through global supply chains and revealing the global economy’s reliance on accurate forecasts. Delays and disruptions in shipments of critical rare earth minerals prompted Australian mining company Lynas Rare Earths to charter its own vessel and ensure continuity of supply to customers through a processing facility in Malaysia.

Overall, the industry is expected to meet the demand for faster and more accurate and predictive shipping. As Southeast Asia continues to ride the wave of e-commerce, large manufacturers will need logistics partners that are more flexible and agile. There are already signs of an ‘uberization’ of maritime transport, which could soon include a larger number of shippers with more small and medium-sized carriers.

Southeast Asia is not only a bottleneck for maritime trade, but also for internet connectivity. With a high concentration of fiber optic cables terminating in and through the region, Southeast Asia is gradually becoming a hub for hyperscale data providers in the region’s digital economy.

Marine infrastructure such as communications cables and seafloor relay stations are often overlooked but are responsible for transporting 95% of the world’s data. While submarine cables can be intentionally cut, especially when the exact locations are known, they are more likely to be damaged by natural disasters or accidental collisions. The Indonesian government recognized this vulnerability when it commissioned the Navy’s Hydrographic and Oceanographic Center to map and possibly rearrange its underwater geophysical landscape of cables and pipes to mitigate potential threats.

The UK and Australia are largely breaking new ground as they explore cybersecurity and the new technological dimensions of maritime security. However, both countries have a proven track record of maritime, cyber and technical expertise, experience and resources to work with ASEAN countries in building further regional capacities in technology-enhanced maritime security.

Managing the emergence of new technologies in Southeast Asia’s maritime operations – military, civil and commercial – and ensuring the confidentiality, integrity and availability of systems and networks will increasingly underpin the security and protection of the maritime domain, including the legal aspects of maritime borders .

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