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71 Oceans and the airspace above them were the first internationally recognized global commons and the model for analyzing the emerging space and cyberspace domains. The role of the commons in developing and facilitating international trade is indisputable. Mitigating security threats to the maritime commons benefited all nations, even noncoastal states. Piracy, terrorism, and other criminal acts at sea must be countered to protect free trade and international commerce. Respect for freedom of navigation must be maintained by all nations, particularly through nonterritorial waters illegally claimed by coastal states and international straits. Other threats to the oceans are major concerns including resource exploitation through overfishing in proscribed areas, pollution, and other acts of ecological and environmental degradation.1 The navies and coast guards around the world are responsible for securing the maritime commons.2 For those nations that do not perceive a direct military threat to their national security from the maritime domain, policing the commons represents the primary mission of their naval forces.3 International naval forces often combine for the common good by providing commons security. One recent example is cooperation by many navies including nonmember nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to suppress piracy along the Somali coast.4 Even when operating unilaterally on the high seas, navies are empowered under international law to protect access to the commons including thwarting piracy against vessels of all nations.5 As a friction-reduced surface for transporting heavy loads, the maritime commons provide one of the best mediums for protecting commerce and facilitating humanitarian assistance, functions that many navies of the world have long performed in support of strategic objectives.6 For island nations such as Britain, Japan, and Australia as well as continental nations like the United States and Canada, access to the global commons is more CHAP TER 4 The Maritime Commons and Military Power SAM J.TANGREDI The Maritime Commons and Military Power 72 than a matter of security. Historically oceans provide barriers against enemies and means to transport forces in defense of national interests and in support of allies in crises. Moreover, the concept of freedom of the seas takes on another important meaning. Traditionally, oceans are the prime medium by which states act militarily. Although military power is projected by long-range aircraft and missiles and from bases in the region, only the oceans can sustain it. Power projection requires forces with combat vehicles and heavy equipment, much of which cannot be transported by air. Sustaining military operations depends on the maritime commons, even in the case of a landlocked country such as Afghanistan, which depends on access to the seaport of Karachi in Pakistan.7 DUAL USE OF THE MARITIME COMMONS For major maritime nations the maritime commons is a dual-use environment. The term dual-use describes technology and products with civilian and military uses. This is particularly true for powers intent on shaping the international security environment. Force projection would be impossible if nations lack the means to gain access to the maritime commons. Military uses of the seas require more economic resources than their commercial use. Because there is a legal component in maritime power projection, it is important to think in terms of the maritime commons and not simply the maritime domain. Access of naval vessels to the commons is guaranteed under international law including transit through international waters and straits. In peacetime there are no constraints on stationing naval or other forces anywhere on the high seas, which are navigable waters more than twelve miles from sovereign land territory. For nations with global navies, the oceans provide unfettered access in peacetime, and all nations have the legal right to deploy forces wherever they choose on the high seas. The right to operate on the high seas is one reason there never has been major opposition to the principle of freedom of the seas for warships under international law. In effect, there is no distinction between the dual uses of the commons ; the peaceful transit of commercial vessels and that of warships have legal equivalency.8 But warships (and other government-operated vessels) have the right or protection of immunity. With the exception of malignant acts such as terrorism, flagged vessels on the high seas remain under national authority and require governmental permission to interfere with their transit, but they do not possess absolute immunity. The right to transit the high seas, however, is a practical right, which can be exercised only when a...

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