Capacity Building for Maritime Security Cooperation: What Are We Talking About?

This paper discusses the notions of maritime security and capacity building in the context of capacity building for maritime security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. What constitutes capacity for providing maritime security at the national, sub-regional and regional levels? What capabilities does a country require to ensure its security against maritime threats, including the threat of maritime terrorism and the risk that its maritime transportation system may be used for terrorist purposes? How do all these capabilities fit together to provide security against both conventional and non-conventional threats? Can we put capabilities for conventional (or traditional) security threats into one box and then those for non-conventional (or non-traditional) threats in another? Are we also talking about maritime safety? What is the relationship between the different concepts of maritime security? Conventional and comprehensive? Traditional and non-traditional? National and domestic