Joint media release with Australian Border Force

Information gathered by Maritime Border Command (MBC), a joint agency taskforce within the Australian Border Force (ABF) and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), will strengthen international cooperation in the pursuit of fishing vessels suspected of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the Southern Ocean.

This was demonstrated on 18 June 2020 when the fishing vessel FV Cobija was boarded 514 nautical miles south west of Cocos Keeling Islands on the high seas in the Indian Ocean, after being sighted by a Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft.

The FV Cobija, previously named Cape Flower and Cape Wrath II, is an IUU listed vessel and when boarded by MBC and AFMA officers the captain claimed the vessel was registered under the Bolivian Flag.

Following the boarding a request from Australia was made to establish the vessels identity, and Bolivia confirmed the FV Cobija had not been flagged to Bolivia since 2019, therefore the vessel is considered stateless.

Commander Maritime Border Command Rear Admiral Lee Goddard, said the information gathered by MBC and AFMA will be instrumental in shutting down another illegal fishing operation.

As a result of this activity we have been able to share important information with our international partners, Rear Admiral Goddard said

Stateless vessels operate without governance and oversight to exploit the worlds marine resources.

These collective efforts will hopefully lead to another alleged transnational organised crime network being shut down for good.

AFMAs General Manager of Fisheries Operations, Peter Venslovas, said IUU fishing on the high seas is highly organised, mobile and elusive.

IUU fishing undermines the sustainability of marine resources and threatens world food security, Mr Venslovas said

We are urging our regional partners to deny the FV Cobija port access or, where possible, take action under national laws. These efforts work to shut down the vessels ability to enter port where it could unload illicit catch and access port facilities to resupply and refuel.

More here:

Information sharing with regional partners aims to reel in transnational crime syndicates - Mirage News

By Lewis Kihumba, BirdLife-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya

High Seas or Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) - outside of states jurisdictions, cover more than 50% of the Earths surface and provide critical ecosystem services to humanity. These areas are increasingly under threat from human activities including land-based activities, fishing, and emerging deep-sea mining leading to pollution and disturbance to species and habitats. There exists strong ecological connectivity between Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and national waters. Simply put, the ocean knows no political boundaries and ecological impacts are felt across borders.

The United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) governs the rights and duties of states in maritime zones. Additionally, ocean governance takes the form of sectoral initiatives in various sectors including fisheries and shipping. There are also a number of regional initiatives concerned with ocean governance. However, the governance of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction is fragmented and complex. In 2015, the United Nations (UN) passed Resolution 69/292, which began negotiations on a treaty on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity. In 2018, the negotiations were formally launched, focussing on four main elements namely: Marine Genetic Resources, including questions on benefit sharing, Environment Impact Assessments, Area based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Capacity building and marine technology transfer.

The Abidjan Convention, ratified in 1984, is one of Africas established organisations active in ocean governance on the continent. The Convention covers a geographical area of 22 countries on the Atlantic seaboard and provides a framework for the protection of marine and coastal environment in the region. The STRONG High Seas initiative which the Abidjan Convention is a partner, provides a platform and facilitates dialogue among Member States on issues around Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) and the treaty currently being negotiated.

African States face a number of challenges, including limited mandates to address BBNJ issues, limited cross-sectoral co-operation, uneven participation in negotiations around international agreements and diverse cultures and languages. Consequently, a Working Group, with representation from the Abidjan Conventions member States, was constituted to explore areas of mutual interest, for co-operation and opportunities for joint programmes and a coordinated approach to ocean protection and governance in the region. This Working Group has had a number of meetings with the latest one in July 2020, as preparations gather pace for the Abidjan Convention 13th Conference of Parties (COP) to be held in April 2021. STRONG High Seas is working with the Abidjan Convention Working Group to produce research and to hold workshops to build awareness of the importance of BBNJ in the region and support decision-making processes in this topic.

The project also seeks to improve the participation of African States in the negotiations taking place around a binding treaty for BBNJ. Ocean governance should be informed by robust scientific information. To this end, the STRONG High Seas has developed an ecological baseline study highlighting the status of marine biodiversity in the South East Atlantic, which is critical for key decision makers in the region. Additionally, STRONG High Seas has started a study looking at the socio-economic connections between Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, and national waters and the relation of these socio-economic activities with marine biodiversity. Linking these efforts in the West, Central and Southern Africa, with other initiatives around the world, will provide the momentum needed to achieve effective and meaningful ocean governance for Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Ultimately, as the conversation on conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity continues, African states will be instrumental in the realization of an inclusive ocean governance framework.

Original post:

African states are critical in advancing ocean governance - The Patriotic Vanguard

A series of events, ranging from social unrest in the United States, Hong Kong and much of Europe to the Covid-19 pandemic, which has infected more than 18 million people and killed nearly 700,000 of them, should prove that 2020 has so far been a very difficult year to navigate.

The South China Sea has not been spared the nail-biting tension of 2020. As claimant states are preoccupied with efforts to fight the pandemic, numerous worrying incidents have occurred within the maritime territory, exacerbating the animosity among the states. The presence of external actors has added strain to the geopolitical turmoil.

Violations of sovereign rights form one of the most pressing issues in the South China Sea. The biggest incident so far was the West Capella standoff after Malaysia started an oil and gas survey in late 2019 within the Malaysia-Vietnam Joint Defined Area.

The operation of the West Capella drillship prompted Beijing to dispatch several China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels to trail, and harass, the drillship and its supply vessels. Vietnam also scrambled some of its maritime militia into the area to observe the drillship.

Meanwhile, Malaysia doubled-down on its initial move by deploying the Royal Malaysian Navys KD Jebat, a 2,270-ton guided missile frigate, to protect the West Capellas operation. At one time the Malaysian warship forced a CCG vessel to stand down.

Beijing has simultaneously initiated a showdown with Malaysia at the Luconia Shoals, where CCG vessels maintain a near-constant presence off the coast of Sarawak. At the culmination of it all, China sent its survey vessel Haiyang Dizhi 8, along with a flotilla of coast guard and paramilitary vessels.

In response to the standoff, the US maintained a presence there for a month with an array of multi-day patrols involving the US Navy, and a flyby of US Air Force bombers. On top of that, the US conducted five Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea in the first half of the year to challenge the unilateral claims of China on the entirety of the South China Sea, and to maintain the act of innocent passage by any ships on the high seas and held a joint military exercise with Australia in April.

Another incident pitted China against the Philippines at Commodore Reef in February. It started when Philippine Navy corvette BRP Conrado Yap encountered a Peoples Liberation Army Navy corvette during a patrol mission in the area. As the Philippine Navy radioed the PLA Navy to continue to their next destination, the PLA Navy insisted that the Commodore Reef area was a sovereign territory of China. BRP Conrado Yap later identified that the PLA Navy had their weapons aimed toward the Philippine Navy.

This incident not only amounts to a violation of Philippines EEZ but also to the illegal use of threat in high seas, which is in direct breach of the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, to which China is a party.

The rising tension caused a spillover effect on Indonesia, with CCG vessels constantly seen trespassing into Indonesias Exclusive Economic Zone from December 2019 to January 2020.

The turmoil has gone unabated when the negotiation of the Code of Conduct (CoC) in South China Sea has been put on hold, mostly because of the pandemic.

The talks on the CoC, however, have been subject to criticism in the first place. One American scholar commented that the current draft, passed in September 2019, had very little agreed upon. Some points are still very contentious, such as dispute settlement procedures, and fishing and seabed management. Meanwhile, a Singaporean scholar said that, as the negotiation was suspended, Beijing was consolidating its presence amid the Covid-19 outbreak. As ASEAN member states have their hands full in dealing with the pandemic, Beijing wants to raise its leverage in the negotiation when it restarts.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is another source of disputes among claimant states in the South China Sea. A fleet of more than 300 Vietnamese fishing vessels ventured into Chinese waters around February 2020. Some vessels were identified to operate with their transponders switched off. Several Chinese analysts suggest that some vessels were there to spy on Chinese military facilities.

Several cases of illegal fishing were also identified venturing into Indonesian waters. An incident in March saw Indonesian authorities capture five Vietnamese fishing vessels and detain the 68 crew members. In the following month, two Vietnamese fishing vessels were seized in the North Natuna Sea.

There seems to be no indication that the situation in the South China Sea will simmer down anytime soon. With the US set to hold an election in November, President Donald Trump cannot afford to back down against Chinas assertive behaviour within the South China Sea.

This will encourage emboldened Southeast Asian claimant states to fight further aggression, as the Philippines has demonstrated in its decision to suspend termination of its Visiting Forces Agreement with the US.

It only shows that claimant states need support to stake their claims within the area.

With the CoC negotiation stagnating in these pressing times, there will be a lot clutter to clean up before any agreement could be pushed forward between the South China Sea littoral states. The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network

Gilang Kembara is a researcher at Department of International Relations, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia. The original article was published in CSIS Commentaries.

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No end to South China Sea disputes without code of conduct - The Star Online

Extremely high fire danger conditions are expected over the extreme south-eastern part of the Northern Cape, extreme southern part of the Free State and in some places over the interior of the Eastern Cape, the South African Weather Service warns.

Special weather advisories:

High seas, with wave heights between 6-7m are expected between Cape Point and Cape Agulhas on Wednesday evening, spreading to Plettenberg Bay overnight, subsiding by Thursday night.

The weather in your province:

Gauteng will be fine and cool.The expected UVB sunburn index is high.

Mpumalanga can expect morning fog patches along the escarpment, otherwise it will be partly cloudy and cool but warm in the Lowveld.It will become fine in the afternoon.

There will be morning fog patches along the escarpment of Limpopo, otherwise partly cloudy and cool to warm.

It will be fine, windy and warm in the North West.

The Free State will be fine, windy and cool, but warm in the extreme north.

In the Northern Cape, it will be cloudy in the west with light showers and rain from the afternoon, otherwise partly cloudy and cold to cool but fine and warm in the north and east.

Morning fog patches are expected along the coast.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north-westerly, becoming fresh south-westerly.

The Western Cape will be cloudy and cold in the west and south-west with rain and showers, otherwise fine and cool in the east.

It will be partly cloudy to cloudy and cool along the south coast.

The wind along the coast will be moderate to fresh north-westerly along the west coast, becoming south-westerly in the afternoon otherwise fresh to strong westerly to south-westerly.The expected UVB sunburn index is low.

The western half of the Eastern Cape will be fine and cool, but warm in places over the interior, becoming partly cloudy in the afternoon.

The wind along the coast will be moderate north-easterly, becoming moderate westerly at midday, but strong south-westerly in the afternoon.

Fine and cool conditions can be expected in the eastern half of the Eastern Cape. The wind along the coast will be moderate north-easterly at first, otherwise moderate south-westerly.

There will be morning fog over the interior of KwaZulu-Natal, otherwise fine and warm. The wind along the coast will be moderate northerly to north-easterly, freshening towards the afternoon.

The expected UVB sunburn index is high.

Tuesday's temperatures.

Click here to see the specific forecast for your city over the next few days

- Compiled by Maxine Becket

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Tuesday's weather: Mainly fine and cool, but high seas in Western Cape and fire alerts elsewhere - News24

Alta Mara, often known as Excessive Seas, is a Spanish-language thriller collection on Netflix. The present follows the story of two sisters Eva (performed by Ivana Bakero) and Carolina Villanueva (Alejandra Oniva), who discover themselves fixing murders aboard a luxurious cruise ship.

In the mean time, Netflix has not confirmed if there would be the fourth season of Excessive Seas. The fourth season is reportedly stated to be in growth. However, theyve but to be confirmed.

The third collection solely airs on Netflix at present (Friday, August 6), so there are nonetheless the first days within the information to announce the way forward for the gift. Netflixs renewal takes typically place one to 6 months after the premiere so that followers can count on data by the tip of the subsequent 12 months.

The primary two seasons of Excessive Seas had been filmed concurrently and premiered 5 months aside. Season three had solely six episodes, so its secure to imagine that the fourth season with comparable events might hit Netflix in late 2020 or early 2021.

Evas former love curiosity was absent for many of the season as she was despatched to Captain Carolinas ship. Nevertheless, she returns to Barbara de Braganza, as issues spiral uncontrolled. Sadly, her battle with the villain of the season sees her falter, and he or she falls into Evas arms. In the meantime, Barbara de Braganza was additionally shot.

Season four could reboard a ship. However, this one will likely be totally different. Perhaps it may very well be Carolinas boat. Within the meantime, its doable that in season 4 we are going to get to know Fabio extra, and we will hope that there will likely be a complicated relationship between Fabio and Eva.

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High Seas Season 4 : Will The Spanish Series Return For On Netflix? - Topbuzztrends.com

Jonathan Green had been tracking a whale shark named Hope across the eastern Pacific for 280 days when the satellite transmissions from a GPS tag on her dorsal fin abruptly stopped.

It was not unusual for the GPS signal to go silent, even for weeks at a time, said Green, a scientist who has been studying the worlds largest fish for three decades in the unique marine ecosystem around the Galpagos Islands.

But then he looked at satellite images in the area where Hope was last tracked more than a thousand nautical miles west of the islands and noticed the ocean was being patrolled by hundreds of Chinese fishing boats.

I began to look into it and found that at the very end of her track she began to speed up, said Green, co-founder and director of the Galpagos Whale Shark Project.

It went from one knot to six or seven knots for the last 32 minutes which is, of course, the speed of a fishing boat, he said.

The fishing vessels that Green saw on the satellite images are believed to belong to an enormous Chinese-flagged fleet which Ecuadorian authorities last week warned was just outside the Galpagos Islands territorial waters.

I dont have proof but my hypothesis is that she was caught by vessels from the same fleet which is now situated to the south of the islands, Green told the Guardian. She is the third GPS-tracked whale shark to have gone missing in the last decade, he added.

The Chinese fleet, numbering more than 200 vessels, is in international waters just outside a maritime border around the Galpagos Islands and also Ecuadors coastal waters, said Norman Wray, the islands governor.

Chinese fishing vessels come every year to the seas around the Galpagos, which were declared a Unesco world heritage site in 1978, but this years fleet is one of the largest seen in recent years. Of the 248 vessels, 243 are flagged to China including to companies with suspected records of illegal, unreported and unregulated, or IUU, fishing, according to research by C4ADS, a data analysis NGO.

The fleet includes fishing boats and refrigerated container or reefer ships to store enormous catches.

Transferring cargo between vessels is prohibited under international maritime law yet the Chinese flotilla has supply and storage ships along with longline and squid fishing boats.

There are some fleets which dont seem to abide by any regulations, said Wray.

One captain of an Ecuadorian tuna boat saw the Chinese fishing boats up close in early July, before the end of the tuna season.

They just pull up everything! said the captain, who asked not to be named. We are obliged to take a biologist aboard who checks our haul; if we catch a shark we have to put it back, but who controls them?

He recalled navigating through the fleet at night, constantly changing course to avoid boats, as their lights illuminated the sea to attract squid to the surface.

It was like looking at a city at night, he said.

The longline fishing boats had up to 500 lines, each with thousands of fishhooks, he estimated, and claimed that some of the vessels would turn off their automatic tracking systems to avoid detection, particularly when operating in protected areas.

Chinese fishing practices first caught the attention of Ecuador in 2017 when its navy seized the Chinese reefer Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 within the Galpagos marine reserve. Inside its containers were 6,000 frozen sharks including the endangered hammerhead shark and whale shark.

It was a slaughterhouse, said Green, describing the images of the cargo hold. This kind of slaughter is going on on a massive scale in international waters and nobody is witnessing it.

The seizure prompted protests outside the Chinese embassy in Quito; Ecuador fined the vessel $6m and the 20 Chinese crew-members were later jailed for up to four years for illegal fishing.

The arrival of the latest fleet has also stirred public outrage and a formal complaint by Ecuador as its navy is on alert for any incursion into Ecuadorian waters.

The Chinese embassy in Quito said that China was a responsible fishing nation with a zero-tolerance attitude towards illegal fishing. It had confirmed with Ecuadors navy that all the Chinese fishing vessels were operating legally and dont represent a threat to anyone, it said in a statement last month. On Thursday China announced a three-month fishing ban in the high seas west of the marine reserve, but it will not come into force until September.

Roque Sevilla, a former mayor of Quito, who is leading a team in charge of designing a protection strategy for the islands, said the fleet practices indiscriminate fishing regardless of species or age which is causing a serious deterioration of the quality of fauna that we will have in our seas.

Ecuador would establish a corridor of marine reserves with Pacific-facing neighbours Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia to seal off important areas of marine diversity, Sevilla told the Guardian.

Protecting the Cocos Ridge, an underwater mountain range which connects the Galpagos Islands to mainland Costa Rica, and the Carnegie Ridge which links the archipelago to Ecuador and continental South America, could close off more than 200,000 sq nautical miles of ocean otherwise vulnerable to industrial fishing, he said.

He added Ecuador had called for a diplomatic meeting with Chile, Peru, Colombia and Panama to present a formal protest against China.

When the Galpagoss protected area was first created it was cutting edge, said Matt Rand, director of the Pew Bertarelli Ocean Legacy, but compared to other newer marine protected areas Galpagos is now potentially lacking in size to protect the biodiversity.

Milton Castillo, the Galpagos Islands representative for Ecuadors human rights ombudsmans office, said he had asked the prosecutors office to inspect the cargo holds of the Chinese ships based on the legal principle of the universal and extraterritorial protection of endangered species.

Chinas distant-water fishing fleet is the biggest in the world, with nearly 17,000 vessels 1,000 of which use flags of convenience and are registered in other countries, according to research by the Overseas Development Institute.

The fleet often fishes in the territorial waters of low-income countries, the report said, having depleted fish stocks in domestic waters.

Green said the explosion of life created by the confluence of cold and warm ocean currents around the Galpagos Islands is exactly why the Chinese armada is hovering around the archipelagos waters.

The Galpagos marine reserve is a place of very great productivity, high biomass but also biodiversity, he said. The longline fishing technique used by the fleet catch big fish like tuna, but also sharks, rays, turtles and marine mammals like sea lions and dolphins, he added.

This is not fishing any more, it is simply destroying the resources of our oceans, Green said. We should ask whether any nation on this planet has the right to destroy what is common ground.

See original here:

'They just pull up everything!' Chinese fleet raises fears for Galpagos sea life - The Guardian

High seas, in maritime law, all parts of the mass of saltwater surrounding the globe that are not part of the territorial sea or internal waters of a state. For several centuries beginning in the European Middle Ages, a number of maritime states asserted sovereignty over large portions of the high seas. Well-known examples were the claims of Genoa in the Mediterranean and of Great Britain in the North Sea and elsewhere.

Read More on This Topic

international law: High seas and seabed

Traditionally, the high seas beyond the territorial waters of states have been regarded as open to all and incapable of appropriation. The...

The doctrine that the high seas in time of peace are open to all nations and may not be subjected to national sovereignty (freedom of the seas) was proposed by the Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius as early as 1609. It did not become an accepted principle of international law, however, until the 19th century. Freedom of the seas was ideologically connected with other 19th-century freedoms, particularly laissez-faire economic theory, and was vigorously pressed by the great maritime and commercial powers, especially Great Britain. Freedom of the high seas is now recognized to include freedom of navigation, fishing, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and overflight of aircraft.

By the second half of the 20th century, demands by some coastal states for increased security and customs zones, for exclusive offshore-fishing rights, for conservation of maritime resources, and for exploitation of resources, especially oil, found in continental shelves caused serious conflicts. The first United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, meeting at Geneva in 1958, sought to codify the law of the high seas but was unable to resolve many issues, notably the maximum permissible breadth of the territorial sea subject to national sovereignty. A second conference (Geneva, 1960) also failed to resolve this point; and a third conference began in Caracas in 1973, later convening in Geneva and New York City.

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High seas | maritime law | Britannica

Edit Cast Series cast summary: Ivana Baquero ... Eva Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Jon Kortajarena ... Nicols Vzquez 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Alejandra Onieva ... Carolina Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Eloy Azorn ... Fernando Fbregas 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Jos Sacristn ... Pedro Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Ignacio Montes ... Dimas Gmez 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Natalia Rodrguez ... Natalia Fbregas 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Begoa Vargas ... Vernica de Garca 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Daniel Lundh ... Pierre 18 episodes, 2019-2020 Chiqui Fernndez ... Francisca de Garca 16 episodes, 2019 Tamar Novas ... Sebastin de la Cuesta 16 episodes, 2019 Luis Bermejo ... Carlos Villanueva / ... 16 episodes, 2019 Pepe Ocio ... Doctor Rojas 16 episodes, 2019 Antonio Durn 'Morris' ... Detective Varela 16 episodes, 2019 Eduardo Blanco ... Capitn Santiago Aguirre 16 episodes, 2019 Bethan Rose Young ... Eva 16 episodes, 2019 Manuela Vells ... Sofa Plazaola / ... 15 episodes, 2019 Laura Prats ... Clara Romero 14 episodes, 2019 Learn more More Like This

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In the Spanish city of Melilla, Morocco, during the Rif War of the 1920s, Spanish volunteer nurses with no experience adapt to their new lives.

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A feel-good, compelling Spanish story of a fashion house in Madrid in the late 50's, which is scene to money, fashion, drama, entanglements, love, jealousies, plots, counter-plots involving its owners, customers and residential employees.

Stars:Paula Echevarra,Miguel ngel Silvestre,Aitana Snchez-Gijn

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Inspired by real events, Hache is the story of Helena, a woman catapulted to the heroin trafficking business in the Barcelona of the 60s.

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Barcelona 1967. Ana Rivera returns from New York to launch her last dream: to make the leap from the exclusive business of haute couture in Madrid to a boutique in Barcelona with aspirations to become a global franchise.

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Nemo Bandeira, a dealer with a clean businessman facade, is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and tries to keep it from his family while he starts to think about who might be his successor.

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She broke the law for the boss she fell in love with. Now this naive girl has to pay the price.

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Valeria is a writer who's hit a dead end with both her writing and her husband. She finds solace in her three friends Carmen, Lola and Nerea.

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When three working-class teenagers begin attending an exclusive private school in Spain, the clash between them and the wealthy students leads to murder.

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After a brutal virus wipes out most of the population, two young siblings embark on a perilous search for safety.

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Two sisters discover disturbing family secrets after a string of mysterious deaths occur on a luxury ship traveling from Spain to Brazil in the 1940s.

Taglines:There are secrets deeper than the ocean.

Runtime: 50 min

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 HD

Looking for some great streaming picks? Check out some of the IMDb editors' favorites movies and shows to round out your Watchlist.

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High Seas (TV Series 2019 ) - IMDb

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High Seas Trading Co.- Hawaiian shirts | Aloha Shirts ...

We love mysteries. Love them; great pulpy mysteries like the ones Agatha Christie wrote. But we dont see those kind of mysteries on TV anymore, ones where the people and setting are glamorous, and things are violent but not dark. The Spanish miniseries,High Seas is that kind of mystery. Read on for more about this new Netflix series

Opening Shot: A ships captain writes in his log about the three murders that have already occurred in ten days on this damned ship.

The Gist:The Villenueva sisters Eva (Ivana Baquero) and Carolina (Alejandra Onieva) are on their way to a cruise ship to take a one-way journey from Spain to Brazil. Why one way? Carolina is getting married on board and setting up a new life in Rio, while Eva, an author, is meeting a publisher who is interested in her work. As they approach the port, their car accidentally hits a young woman named Luisa (Manuela Vells), who claims that theyre going to kill me if shes caught. Eva, whos trusting and empathetic almost to a fault, convinces Carolina to stow her in their steamer trunk and sneak her on board.

Eva is confident they can get Luisa on board because Carolina is marrying the ships owner, Fernando Fabregas (Eloy Azorin), so the trunk isnt in storage. When they finally are able to get Luisa out, she says shes running from her fiance, a powerful man who demands they get married. Carolina wants to tell Fernando, but Luisa begs her to wait until theyre at sea and she cant be taken off the ship. Eva convinces her not to tell Fernando when the two of them visit him at his office just as he gets a call to meet a mysterious person at midnight.

Everyones making a new start on this cruise: The sisters just lost their father, and their uncle Pedro (Jos Sacristn) has decided to sell the business they ran together when Carolina and Eva decided not to take over. The captain is leading his first cruise since his wife died, and he wants no part of superstition like an albatross hitting the bridge right before they set sail. His first officer, Nicolas Vazquez (Jon Kortajarena), used to be a petty thief until the captain took him under his wing.

Luisa, having been taken down to the third class quarters of the sisters nanny Francisca and her daughter Victoria, knocks Francisca out, steals her key to the sisters cabin, and starts ransacking it, looking for something. As Eva gets cozy with Nicolas on the deck around midnight, though, she hears a woman scream and sees her fall from the ship. As the crew searches for the woman, both Eva and Carolina think that the woman who went overboard was Luisa, and they finally tell Fernando. But did the woman fall from the deck or was she pushed?

Our Take: High Seas(original name:Alta mar) is created by Ramon Campos and Gema R. Neira (Cocaine Coast), and its an amazingly good-looking show. Its post-WWII setting can not only be seen in the costumes and props like cameras and luggage, but the sets depicting the lavish, art deco-style hallways, ballrooms and staterooms of the luxury cruise ship the characters are on are a sight to see. Also, the costuming gives us little clues about the characters: Eva the independent artist, for instance, wears pants, which was just starting to be a thing in the late 40s.

The story plays out like one of those potboiler mysteries that Agatha Christie might have written in that time period; lots of colorful characters, all with an agenda and a motive, populate the ship, and mysteries abound. Sometimes, we thought Campos and Neira were a bit too coy with some of the mysteries, as when the ships doctor has a cryptic conversation with Uncle Pedro about what they might be doing when they arrive in Rio. But, for the most part, the characters are well-drawn and the story is intriguing.

One of the other things we found fun aboutHigh Seas is that the tone of the show isnt dark, like some of the period mysteries weve seen of late have been. No, it takes an old-fashioned approach to the murder mystery, making the setting glamorous even the third-class deck looks like a fun party instead of something resembling steerage the characters witty and sophisticated, and the mystery the central part of the story, not blood and gore. Were looking forward to seeing how this plays out over the series eight episodes.

Parting Shot: On the deck where the woman was thrown overboard, Eva finds an engineers pin, the same one Carolina gave Fernando just before the ship set sail.

Sleeper Star:Kortajarena is intriguing as Nicolas. He has taken a liking to Eva, and their relationship on board will likely have a big influence on the mystery.

Most Pilot-y Line: Sebastian, after meeting Victoria: I hate it when she goes, but I love watching her leave. Funny line, of course, but also very cliche.

Our Call: STREAM IT.High Seas is a good-looking, light mystery with performances that signal that theyre not taking things all that seriously, which is a good thing for a show like this.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesnt kid himself: hes a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, VanityFair.com, Playboy.com, Fast Companys Co.Create and elsewhere.

Stream spain on Netflix

Continued here:

'High Seas' Netflix Review: Stream It or Skip It?

Ivana Baquero ... Eva Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Jon Kortajarena ... Nicols Vzquez 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Alejandra Onieva ... Carolina Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Eloy Azorn ... Fernando Fbregas 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Jos Sacristn ... Pedro Villanueva 24 episodes, 2019-2020 Ignacio Montes ... Dimas Gmez 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Natalia Rodrguez ... Natalia Fbregas 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Begoa Vargas ... Vernica de Garca 22 episodes, 2019-2020 Daniel Lundh ... Pierre 18 episodes, 2019-2020 Chiqui Fernndez ... Francisca de Garca 16 episodes, 2019 Tamar Novas ... Sebastin de la Cuesta 16 episodes, 2019 Luis Bermejo ... Carlos Villanueva / ... 16 episodes, 2019 Pepe Ocio ... Doctor Rojas 16 episodes, 2019 Antonio Durn 'Morris' ... Detective Varela 16 episodes, 2019 Eduardo Blanco ... Capitn Santiago Aguirre 16 episodes, 2019 Bethan Rose Young ... Eva 16 episodes, 2019 Manuela Vells ... Sofa Plazaola / ... 15 episodes, 2019 Laura Prats ... Clara Romero 14 episodes, 2019 Claudia Traisac ... Casandra Lenormand 8 episodes, 2019 Antonio Reyes ... Eric 8 episodes, 2019 Ben Temple ... Acreedor 6 episodes, 2019 Flix Gmez ... Anbal de Souza 6 episodes, 2019 Pepe Barroso ... Julin 6 episodes, 2019 Itsaso Arana ... Anna 6 episodes, 2020 Marco Pigossi ... Fabio 6 episodes, 2020 Javier Taboada ... Agustn 5 episodes, 2019 Abel Rodrguez ... Simn 5 episodes, 2019 Toni Mis ... Marino Calabozo 4 episodes, 2019 Jorge Varandela ... Manuel 4 episodes, 2019 Candela Fernndez ... Gloria 4 episodes, 2019 Tato Loch ... Marino Rojas 4 episodes, 2019 Virginia Muoz ... Enfermera 3 episodes, 2019 Gonzalo Kindeln ... Arturo 3 episodes, 2019 Pedro Madrid ... Telegrafista 3 episodes, 2019 Salomn Salgado ... Jefe de Mquinas 3 episodes, 2019 Chiquinquir Delgado ... Teresa 3 episodes, 2019 Jorge San Jos ... Timonel 2 episodes, 2019 Irina Bravo ... Luca 2 episodes, 2019 Brais Yanek ... Ral 2 episodes, 2019 Amparo Vega Len ... Doa Beatriz 2 episodes, 2019 Rodrigo Senz de Heredia ... Bernab Sanchez 1 episode, 2019 Rubn Mascato ... Marino huida 1 episode, 2019 Quim Ramos ... Marino Almacn 1 episode, 2019 Carlos Lpez ... Marino Luisa 1 episode, 2019 Vctor Maz ... Telefonista 1 episode, 2019 Alex O'Brien ... Marino lex 1 episode, 2019 Elena Martnez ... Rosa Marn 1 episode, 2019 Oscar Redondo ... Maquinsta 1 episode, 2019 Rodrigo Soares ... Cardoso 1 episode, 2019 Alicia Velasco ... Profesora de baile 1 episode, 2019 Juan Calot ... Saldaa 1 episode, 2019 Nay Daz ... Recepcionista 1 episode, 2019 Jons Torres ... Marino 128 1 episode, 2019 Carlos Villarino ... Pasajero 1 episode, 2019 Mariano Andrs ... Pasajero pelea 1 episode, 2019 Alejandro Carro ... Teniente Verdadeiro Cardoso 1 episode, 2019 Samuel Lpez ... Marinero 1 episode, 2019 Jorge Mor ... Pasajero 1 episode, 2019 Aitor Snchez ... Marino 1 episode, 2019 Cristina Plazas ... Carmen 1 episode, 2020 Ral Cabrera ... Actor pequeas partes (uncredited) 1 episode, 2019 Javi 'Romel' Isaac ... Pasajero Pasillo (uncredited) 1 episode, 2019 Diana Tobar ... Mujer barco (uncredited) 1 episode, 2019

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High Seas (TV Series 2019 ) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb

Here to trigger everyone's thalassophobia, or fear of the sea, is the open-water survival and crafting game "Raft."

"Raft" is fairly simple. You start out on a two-by-two section of raft with nothing but the wood beneath your feet and a makeshift grappling hook. Around you is the wide-open ocean and a neverending stream of flotsam and jetsam that drifts your way (or are you drifting into it? The mind wonders).

Players throw the hook and snag nearby debris, collecting wood, plastic, vines and more to stay alive and expand the raft.

Players must manage their hunger and thirst as they collect resources to maintain and upgrade the raft.

But beware about simply jumping off the raft and swimming over to resources to collect them a hungry shark stalks the raft, and attacks the boat frequently, destroying sections unless driven off.

Alone on the ocean, in a raft, with a great white shark circling? Cue the "Jaws" music.

It sounds terrifying, but "Raft" is also quite calming and wholesome. Each day brings a set of tasks required to survive until the next dawn.

Seawater must be purified. Food, such as herring caught with a fishing pole, or potatoes found in drifting barrels, must be grilled. Every few minutes, the shark attacks a section of the raft and must be fought off.

The game does get deeper and more complex, however. As you drift along, you'll notice the occasional island pop into view on the horizon. Collect enough resources, and a sail and anchor can be built, allowing for a temporary stopover to harvest rare resources, such as seeds and fruits.

The true reward of islands, though, lies beneath the water, where seaweed and deposits of ores can be found -- provided you've found a way to distract the maneater that's still hunting you.

There's an actual storyline, too, although it doesn't begin until the player has acquired enough technology and resources to craft a radio receiver and three antennas.

"Raft" is currently in Early Access on Steam, although it has been there for a while. The first chapter of the story, in which players will start to uncover why the world is covered in water, was released late last year, and the second chapter is due to come out this fall. Once the storyline is unlocked, the player will encounter special named islands that offer unique resources and blueprints.

Players can advance fairly significantly, technology-wise. Early on, jabbing the shark with a sharp stick is the best you can do as your tiny home floats along a current. Eventually, players can acquire a steering wheel, biofuels and engines. Automatic collection nets will snag floating debris as it goes past, and players can smelt ore, grow crops and trees and even raise livestock on the raft.

Not to be forgotten is that "Raft" is also a multiplayer-capable game. Join friends on Steam or invite new pals found through the game's official Discord server, and players can drift the high seas in good company.

The more players that join a game, the more the materials that will spawn to be collected. But multiple sharks can also spawn, which can make some parts of the game more challenging. Also, more players mean more mouths to feed.

Interestingly, there's no limit to how many friends can join your game, nor how big the raft can become. It's limited only by the computing power of your PC, although I wouldn't recommend more than two to four players.

There are quite a few crafting options for raft expansion, too it doesn't have to be flat. You can have ladders and stairs, so feel free to turn your raft into a houseboat with many stories.

"Raft" comes with four difficulty modes Peaceful, Easy, Hard and Creative. In the first three, the difficulty slowly increases, with hunger and thirst draining more quickly and sharks re-spawning faster (yes, you can kill the shark and harvest its meat, but after a few minutes, another will appear).

In Creative mode, players have unlimited supplies and health, so they don't have to gather any materials, research blueprints or worry about survival, and can instead just have fun building the raft of their dreams.

Hard mode has an additional difficulty modifier that makes it really suitable only for confident solo players, or in multiplayer mode players who die cannot re-spawn on their own. Another player will need to grab the body and drag it to a bed to be brought back into the game. Up to five sharks can spawn at a time.

"Raft" is developed by a small Swedish studio of just eight people and originally was a student project. It has been a lot of fun to play.

Raft

Platform: Windows

Cost: $19.99

Rating: Everyone 8+

Score: 8 out of 10

"Raft" is a video game in which you drift the high seas while defending yourself from a shark and collecting flotsam to fancy up your raft. (Photo courtesy Redbeet Interactive)

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GAME ON: Drift gently along the high seas with your 'Raft,' your pals and sharks - NWAOnline

Although we are in the middle of August, Netflix does not falter when it comes to offering premieres and this week adds a good number of series and movies to its catalog. We will review all of them and the dates they arrive.

This first week of August Netflix has decided to help those who have vacations with numerous series and movies, almost twenty products that are added to the platforms catalog and that, without a doubt, offer a wide offer for all types of users.

Months go by and It seems that the coronavirus crisis has not affected Netflixs offer too much, just look at the series of own production and those bought from other producers that can be seen from this week, with some Spanish, such as Alta mar, but also many international and renowned, among which is the last season of The Rain .

If you want to know which premieres this week of August 3 on Netflix, here are all the news.

Sign up for Disney + and enjoy one of the broadest catalogs that exist in the streaming scene, with sagas like Star Wars or Marvel.

As usual, Netflix continues with its commitment to national productions and also with casts of well-known performers. This week we have the return of Alta mar and Ivana Baquero, Jon Kortajarena and Alejandra Onieva.

High seas returns in its third season and with many secrets still to be revealedbut especially the search for the deadly virus cabin by cabin on the cruise ship and a countdown that does not look away from all the questions that remained to be resolved from previous seasons. This series that began as a second line has been gaining in followers and will be one of the most important news of the month for many.

The High Seas arrives on Netflix on August 7, are you going to miss it?

Netflix has revealed what are its 10 most viewed original movies of all time, among which is the Spanish El hoyo. Pay attention to the titles that make up the ranking and do not miss the opportunity to see them (if you have not already done so).

Slender Man was the film adaptation of the famous creepypasta of the same name, one of the best-known horror characters who was born on an internet forum and from whom a thousand different stories have been written before making the leap to the cinema with this film.

Is horror movie It has a very classic scheme: young people from a small population begin to disappear and die. Although no one believes their stories, they think its the well-known Slender Marn who is destroying his friends and they decide to ally to fight against him. However, it is too uneven a fight.

This movie is more interesting as a first approach to Slender Man than for its quality. In case you want to see it, it premieres on August 3.

Read more:

Releases of the week on Netflix: High Seas, Slender Man and more - Checkersaga

The high seas in Devon and Cornwall

Put the wind back in your sails on a skippered sail around the topaz-coloured coast of Devon and Cornwall. Bessie Ellen and Agnes are two historic sailing vessels, the former a 100ft classic tall ship featured on the National Historic Ships Register sleeping 12, the latter a recreation of an original Isles of Scilly wooden pilot cutter, sleeping eight. Both are available skippered for family bubbles and will trace the south-west coastline from Fowey or Falmouth, stopping for swimming, hiking and history lessons.

From 130pp per night full-board, venturesailholidays.com

What could be more appealing than mooring a narrowboat for the night then sitting out to enjoy a Dark Sky Reserve? In the Brecon Beacons, you can cruise the tree-lined Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal by day, stopping at market towns such as Brecon, Abergavenny and Crickhowell and enjoy the stars by night amid the green hills of the National Park.

One weekfrom 1,405 for two, beaconparkboats.com

Onderneming is an 1899 Dutch sailing barge that stretches to almost 100ft on the River Alde in Snape, just outside Aldeburgh. She is permanently moored, offering a static boat holiday that requires no navigational skills and a tranquil base for country and coastal walks. The boat is also dog-friendly, with space for up to six guests in three bedrooms, a childrens den and free use of bikes.

Four nights from 968 with breakfast, woodfarmbarges.com

Board a narrowboat and ascend 146ft up Hatton Locks in just over two miles on the Grand Union Canal. From the Black Prince base at Napton, you can explore Shakespeare country or Warwick Castle, or just wait for quiet moments to spot ducks, swans, sparrows, wagtails, grass snakes and the occasional badger. Peel off the Grand Union Canal for the peaceful Ashby Canal or visit the Stoke Bruern Canal Village. The narrowboats sleep between two and eight and many are pet-friendly.

Four-nights from 1,259 for eight, black-prince.com

The Pennines are hallowed stomping ground, but it is possible to soak up their brooding grandeur from a narrowboat too. From Sowerby Bridge, drift along the Rochdale Canal through the Calder Valley and stop at Ted Hughess birthplace Mytholmroyd, as well as Hebden Bridge, with its independent shops and pubs and nearby waymarked trails. The system is steep, with plenty of locks, but that means plenty of interest too.

Four nights from 915 for four, waterwaysholidays.com

This is a classic boating holiday and one that requires no prior experience as you navigate the gentle, inland waters of the National Park. The shallow lakes dug for peat in medieval times now provide a haven for bird and wildlife including more than a quarter of the UKs rarest species, such as the swallowtail butterfly and Norfolk hawker dragonfly, as well as otters. Modern boats dominate, but there are also wooden vessels for experienced helmspeople, including a fleet of 30s engineless sailing craft in the village of Ludham. Hoist the sails and glide quietly through the water.

One week from 795 for two, huntersyard.co.uk

You will need a head for heights to navigate the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, designed by Thomas Telford and Williams Jessop almost 130ft above the River Dee in North Wales. This part of the Llangollen Canal is a Unesco World Heritage Site, as it is elevated through the Vale of Llangollen, and is the worlds highest canal aqueduct. It is easy to access from the Andersen Boats narrowboat base at Middlewich in Cheshire, from where you can pootle west to cross the border from England to Wales.

Three nights from 668 for two, andersenboats.com

The 60-mile Caledonian Canal, which cuts through the Great Glen from the east to the west coast via four lochs, is now open to boat transits again. Cruise west to Banavie for views of Ben Nevis, then turn around for the return journey through Loch Ness, which can be completed in a week. It is also possible to moor up and explore the Great Glen Way by bike or on foot.

One week from 1,615 for four, caleycruisers.com

Cruise the bigger of the two connected lakes that form Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh, exploring the many islands, coves and inlets on the tranquil water, including the island town of Enniskillen. Vestiges of history can be found on many islands, including relics from ancient Celts, Christian monks and Vikings. Get closer to the water on a canoe, hike the trails that pulse through the countryside, or go trout or salmon fishing nearby.

One week from 852 for four,hoseasons.co.uk

One of the most popular boating holidays in France is along this 17th-century World Heritage canal, which runs for 360km from Toulouse past the vineyards of the Languedoc to the flamingo-speckled tang de Thau right beside the Mediterranean sea. Glide through arboreal tunnels of plane trees and moor outside villages for a coffee and croissant or to stock up at markets, admiring the majesty of Carcasonnes mighty ramparts along the way.

One week from 1,589 for two, leboat.co.uk

Just east of the Canal du Midi lies the Camargue, a patchwork of saltwater lagoons where you might see its resident white horses and pink flamingos. Cruisers ply the Canal du Rhne Ste, which connects the tang de Thau lagoon with the Rhne river at Beaucaire. There are beaches, birdlife, wildlife and Roman history to explore in Arles and Nimes.

One week from 1,099pp, french-waterways.com

Big cruise liners have made unwelcome news in Venice in recent years, but it is possible to explore the lagoon on a much smaller scale. Setting off from the western end of the lagoon or the river Sile, you can commandeer small cruiser to explore the islands including Murano and the Lido as well as the beaches of Jesolo, then enjoy La Serenissima with the mass cruise crowds absent.

One week from 2,270 for four, cruiseinitaly.com

From Loosdrecht lake, the Netherlands emblematic canals and the River Vecht course north to Amsterdam and south to Gouda and Amsterdam in miniature Utrecht. There is a marina in the heart of Amsterdam, meaning you can moor and explore, and a cheese market in Woerden as well as several historic castles near Loosdrecht. Utrecht is a historic university city with an independent and creative spirit and plenty of canal-side restaurants and breweries.

One week from 1,474 (1,325) for five, locaboat.com

The land of 1,000 lakes adorns the north of Germany, the largest lakeland in Europe, which offers no shortage of opportunities for outdoor activity on a holiday afloat forest bike and hiking trails, fishing, history and heritage. Setting off from Lbz, an easterly route delivers Germanys northernmost vineyards, or head west to discover the fairytale Schwerin castle, former home of the dukes of Mecklenburg, on an island in the citys lake.

One week from 1,529 (1,375) for two, boat-renting-nicols.co.uk

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The best and most beautiful boating holidays in the UK and Europe this year - iNews

Maritime and naval component is an important part of political, economic and military domain of a maritime nation. This component enhances a states role in foreign policy, diplomacy, economy and especially in military domain to further its national interests. Pakistan and India apart from being a hostile neighbors with over 3,323 km of international land border also share maritime space in Indian Ocean Region. To ensure robust presence and control of the maritime frontiers its the responsibility of the navy and its maritime forces to establish the writ of the state in alignment of national interests. For this purpose to understand and devise the role and duties of the navy a doctrine is established which acts as a anchor to establish the norms of the naval and maritime components and develop understanding among tri services (Army and Air-Force) and also of one states national maritime objectives with other states. Thus, for this purpose the establishment of a naval doctrine is necessary for a maritime nation. Pakistan being a responsible maritime state has published its own maritime doctrine termed as Preserving Freedom of Seas in December 2018.India on the other hand enjoys largest coastline of 7,516 km among any other maritime state with its blue water navy ambitions. The Indian Maritime Doctrine which was published in 2009 highlights the naval ambitions of yet a developing state which causes grave concerns and challenges to Pakistans maritime interests in the Indian Ocean Region. Thus, a comparative analysis of both these doctrines underlines the aims and objectives of how both these states perceives the space of Indian Ocean Region.

Indian Ocean Region

Indian Ocean Region is the worlds third largest water body which comprises an area of 65.556 million sq km and have a coastline of 66,526 km. The IOR lies in one of the worlds most contested region which is rich in natural resources including fossil fuels, oil and gas, fisheries and untampered ores and minerals. The IOR has four most crucial access points or choke points namely water ways of Suez Canal (in Egypt), Strait of Hormuz (between Iran and Oman), Strait of Malacca (located between Malaysia and Indonesia) and Bab-al-Mandeb (located near Djibouti and Yemen). The area is currently facing various turmoils and challenges including civil unrest, state conflicts and is in the lime-light of the major power politics and strategic interests. The northern part of Indian ocean region ferries 70% of sea borne oil trade and about 50% of sea borne trade.[1]

Pakistan and India both share a significant importance in the international politics due to their geographical positioning and relevancy to major land and maritime routes. Pakistan enjoys an area of 350 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone in Indian Ocean Region, while, India maintains a significant larger jurisdiction over 2.8 million sq km of space in Indian Ocean.[2] With over two naval engagements of 1965-1971 and disputed territories in the region including Sir Creek dispute, both of these South Asian states hold Indian Ocean as a vital component of their strategic apparatus in political, diplomatic and military domains. The economic importance attached to the mercantile component of the Indian Ocean Region thrives the economy of not only Pakistan and India but also the world at large with the onslaught of advance sea borne container freights and other vessels.

Pakistans Maritime Doctrine 2018

The Maritime Doctrine of Pakistan Navy was published in December 2018 during Maritime Security Workshop which was held at Karachi.[3] This doctrine was published after a research of seven years by the academicians of Naval War College. The doctrine is a comprehensive document on issues pertaining to the maritime affairs and role of Pakistan Navy in mitigating them in the light of national interests. The main role as highlighted by the document is to protect the vital maritime interests, ensure national security and mitigate threats posed by any sea based source, economic viability and implement vital foreign policy tools and diplomacy through the naval component. Other major factors highlighted by the doctrine highlights the commitments of Pakistan at the international level and the responsible role played by Pakistan to fulfill its role to ensure peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region under its Area of Responsibility (AoR).

According to the document, the role of the doctrine is to establish particular set of principles which are advocated by major policy narratives acquired through experience and provide guidance pertaining to certain issues. The purpose of the doctrine should be to highlight the important factors, give accurate and authentic information, while, remaining flexible with continuous change. The doctrine helps in analyzing and managing change, the shared principles and practices, and is the force behind the institutional development which pursue fundamental national objectives. The interplay between the policy, strategy and doctrine is based upon the national interests and objectives enunciated in the constitutional directives issued by political leadership.[4]

The Naval and Maritime Strategy

According to the document the naval strategy deals with the aspect of employment and deployment of the naval forces in time of war and peace. While, the maritime strategy comprises of a broader domain encompassing the issues pertaining to maritime ecosystem, economy, trade, security and safety, threats and opportunities emanating from the maritime domain. The economic component include the sea borne trade, fishery and marine resources, natural resources, while, the threats include sea borne human, drug trafficking, gun-running, piracy and poaching.

Maritime Force

The naval component of the strategy comprise upon the employment and deployment of naval fire power against surface, sub-surface, air and ashore based threats. The domain of the naval strategy also comprises of the electromagnetic and cyber domain also which are neutralized by various hardware assets and human capital having technological edge over the adversary. This technological edge is ensured by maintaining advanced cruisers, destroyers, frigates, submarines, amphibious assault ships and other fleet auxiliaries.

Foreign Policy Tool

The maritime forces maintained by a state should be flexible, versatile, and sustainable giving them mobility and readiness to operate when and where needed as the need arises, thus, ensuring the naval supremacy of a maritime power nation. Moreover, navy is an important component of the foreign policy ensuring the pursue of entailed objectives such as freedom of navigation, extension of alliances through friendly port visits, aiding in humanitarian and disaster relief operations among others.

International Maritime Regimes

The interaction of states on the high seas is regulated and controlled by various international regimes mainly United Nations Convention Laws of Seas (UNCLOS-1982). The role of the international maritime regimes is crucial to regulating the sea space between the states. Pakistan being a responsible member of the international community is a member of various cooperative, economic and security regimes. Regimes such as Indian Ocean Maritime Affairs Cooperation which was ratified in June 1983 focuses upon ocean governance and management. The Indian Ocean Rim Association which was signed in Mauritius in 1997 focuses upon regional technological and economic cooperation in maritime domain among member states. The International Maritime Conference such as AMAN are held biennially from 2007 by Pakistan to promote cooperation among regional naval forces and share same sense of security towards the maritime threats and challenges. Western Pacific Naval Symposium emphasizes upon pragmatic cooperation between the major states and has developed code of unplanned encounters in sea among the member states which ensures safety and develop bilateral relations.

Maritime Security Initiatives

The maritime security initiatives were readily taken in the aftermath of the 9/11 incident in order to curb the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction through the international water ways. These initiatives ensure that the sea is safe from all threats and challenges. These initiatives comprises of issues relating to conventional maritime security issues, state sovereignty, non-traditional maritime security problems, terrorism, territorial disputes and human and drug trafficking issues. The initiatives comprises of International Ship Port Facility Security Code ISPS, which was launched in December 2002, focuses on security issues pertaining to port facilities and maintaining good order at sea. Other initiatives such as Automatic Identification System AIS is similar to Identification of Friend or Foe IFF but on sea regulating the movement of sea vessels and personnel onboard. Other multifaceted maritime security initiatives include Secure Freight Initiatives SFI, Proliferation Security Initiative PSI and Container Security Initiative CSI. These initiatives monitor sea based cargo and personnel movement through various checks and balances using non-intrusive equipment and optical character recognition instruments.

Maritime Environment

The progressive rise in the economic power centers especially in Asia-Pacific from trans-Atlantic has raised the stakes for the maritime component of trade, geo-politics and strategic dominance in the region. The threats in the region include jeopardizing the maritime trade due to political purposes, sea lanes of communications, combat restricted exclusive economic zones. The increasing maritime threats include smuggling, human and drug trafficking, gun-running. Moreover, the initiation of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor CPEC is the pilot project to enhance the economic importance of the Gwadar port and Pakistan in the region.

Climate Change and Sea Level Rise

Climate change is a considerable threat which is dramatically impacting the coastal domain, increasing the sea level, changing the wave patterns, soil sedimentation and unpredictable storm events. These alterations impact the biodiversity of the marine ecosystem and also threatens the coastal regions.

Collaborative Maritime Security

The collaborative maritime security initiatives include Pakistans active participation in the Combined Task Force 150 and 151 which has been regularly commanded by Pakistan Navy. These task force ensures that the water ways in the Northern, Western and Central Indian Ocean are kept free from piracy and trafficking, ensuring a safe environment to the economic trade and free movement of sea freight.

Command Of The Sea

The command of the sea is projected through maritime power which enables a nation to control the sea through various spectrums of threats including surface, air, electromagnetic and cyber domains. The naval strategies are adopted by various sea based platforms which perform naval blockade, Force benign role such as ensuring balancing and avoiding head on collision with a greater enemy, naval diplomacy, coercion, gun-boat diplomacy and deterrence at conventional, sub-conventional and nuclear level among many others.

Maritime Command and Control

Maritime command and control is ensured by having a situational domain awareness across the sea based on technological advanced intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition ISRTA systems. Thus, the domain awareness helps in establishing a more robust and flexible strike element according to changing threat environment. The contemporary increase in sub-conventional maritime threats has forced navy to converge its focus upon threats generating from non-state actors either at land or sea.

The nuclearization of the Indian Ocean by the adversary has raised the stakes in the region, while, the adversary is still instigating in sub-conventional warfare under the cover of nuclear umbrella. Thus, the deliberate desire of the enemy to keep the conventional theater alive calls upon changing the apprehensions regarding the conventional threat. The Pakistan Navy considers that the prevalence of deterrence across all the spectrums must be ensured and upon the failure of the deterrence the protection of maritime interests must be ensured at all costs. For this purpose Pakistan Navy has adopted the approach of provocative, and flexible mobility using the sea space, regulating attrition from multi-dimension cause dilution of enemy forces. Lastly the approaches include hit first with maximum effects and minimum application of force. The nature of naval warfare in coming era will require a robust and flexible force posture ensuring stealthy capabilities. The high-tempo and high-intensity diversion and disruption of sea lanes of communications of the enemy using submarine component of the force to dominate the war theater are among the major priorities of the navy.

The future warfare environment would be in a network centric environment which would be prone to cyber threats upon the major critical infrastructure. Navy is working on ensuring that the force is ready to overcome the future challenges in coming years ranging from information wars to cyber threats and ensuring interoperability of land and air-forces in synchronization with navy thus ensuring accomplishment of goals as desired by political leadership.

The Comparative Analysis of Pakistans Maritime Doctrine with Indian Maritime Doctrine

The maritime doctrine of India was published in 2009, which propagated the increasing role of Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean Region highlighting the Blue Water Navy ambitions of India. The doctrine of Pakistan Navy contrasts and contradicts the Indian Naval apprehensions at various points. While, both of the doctrines ensure to maintain the conventional and nuclear deterrence and ensure capability enhancement to overcome the upcoming information and cyber warfare domains. The Indian Naval doctrine undermines the chances of any Force-Benign and force balancing posture and subsequently highlights the of the role of maintaining a strategic superiority in the region. While, the maritime doctrine of Pakistan ensures that it is a responsible state by complying to international commitments pertaining to maritime domain. Indian Navy on the other hand does not highlight and discuss the importance of the maritime security initiatives altogether. Thus, this aspect highlights the Indian Naval ambitions to acquire superiority in the region.The contrasts in the doctrines of India and Pakistan are there to persist, but there are various similarities along various points relating to the command of sea and on war. The highlighted points include the realization of prevalence of sub-conventional warfare and the rapid change in the battle field and role of the navy in terms of combating various threats. The role of the navy has enhanced from maintaining control of the sea at non-conventional low intensity conflicts to conventional and all out nuclear conflicts including the total-war scenarios.[5]

Recommendations

To maintain strategic stability and effective control over the maritime domain it is recommended that Pakistan should engage in effective diplomatic relations with states in Indian Ocean Region especially Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar and engage in enhancing the naval capabilities of these states, lease naval assets and deploy listening posts in the region to maintain surveillance over Indian naval movements. This ambit could be further expanded to Strait of Malacca especially Malaysia, Indonesia and in Strait of Hormuz due to its economic and strategic importance as more than 80% of energy resources for Pakistan flow through the Persian Gulf. Pakistan should diplomatically engage Gulf States especially Oman which hosts Indian Naval listening post in Ras al Hadd to monitor the potential hostile naval activates of India Navy in specific which has enhanced its patrolling in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.[6] For maintaining an effective maritime domain awareness in the region it is recommended that Pakistan Navy should develop an Information Fusion Center (IFC) in the region including allies states which would enable to maintain a joint maritime domain awareness, further enhance the ambit of its Regional Maritime Security Patrol (RMSP) and Amman Naval Exercises.[7] This would enable the navy to develop a comprehensive network centric capability which would act as force multiplier and enabler for the navy to obtain its objectives as described in the maritime doctrine effectively. The strategic competition in the region and the changing strategic and military alliances following formulation of US Indo-Pacific Command following multiple strategic agreements between India and USA following 2+2 Dialogue, Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA),[8]India US Logistical Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOSA), Basic Exchange Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) and Quadrilateral Security Dialogue[9] would enhance Indian naval capabilities to project its blue water ambitions not only in the Indian Ocean Region alone but beyond that especially in South China Sea and Persian Gulf.[10]Indian also have developed its Information Fusion Center for Indian Ocean region to enhance its maritime domain awareness with collaboration with regional and international partners including US and Australia in December 2018.[11] Thus, following materialization of these agreements especially COMCASA would enable India to use not only US and NATO maritime domain awareness assets but also the real time and exclusive intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in potential areas of interest in Indian Ocean Region and South China Sea vis--vis Pakistan and Chinas naval capabilities. Thus, the emerging strategic picture following contemporary shifts in the region especially in maritime domain would pose a considerable threat to viability of maintaining command of the sea for Pakistan in its area of interest. For this reason Pakistan should develop and enhance considerable force structure, establish and deepen its strategic relations with the regional allies mainly China for enhancing its naval capabilities and maintain command of the sea according to its national interests and to counter the threats posed from Indian Blue Water ambitions.

Conclusion

The Indian Ocean Region is a shared space between not only the two South Asian neighbors but also by the whole world which is connected by the intricate web of land, sea, air and cyber links. The role of doctrines is to ensure stability and maintain rationality among the state actors in their dealings at various levels of analysis. The maritime doctrines of both Pakistan and India ensure that while they both long for peace and stability in the region they will not undermine their national security at any cost. To ensure peace and stability in the region, Pakistan has showcased its commitments to international community ensuring that its a responsible nation. While, the Indian on the other hand with their aspirations of becoming sole regional power are undermining their commitment to peace and security in the region. While, the trade and economics are a crucial part of the maritime domain Pakistan is working on readily to reinvigorate its economic resources to pursue its national interests accordingly. It is advised that India with its power ambitions may act a regional destabilizer that would enforce Pakistan to take provocative steps to maintain strategic balance.

[1] Indian Ocean Region, US Naval War College, https://usnwc.libguides.com/IndianOcean, Accessed on December 19, 2019.

[2] The Exclusive Economic Zone of the Seas around India, Geography and You, January 24, 2018, https://www.geographyandyou.com/exclusive-economic-zone-seas-around-india/, Accessed on December 19, 2019.

[3]President launches first Maritime Doctrine of Pakistan, Pakistan Today, December 21, 2018, https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/12/21/president-launches-first-maritime-doctrine-of-pakistan/ (Accessed on December 19, 2019).

[4] Naval Headquarters, Islamabad, Maritime Doctrine of Pakistan Preserving Freedom of Seas, 2018.

[5] Integrated Headquarters, Ministry of Defense (Navy), Indian Maritime Doctrine, 2009.

[6] Indian Listening Station In Oman Monitoring Pakistans Naval Communications,Aamen, February 27, 2013, https://www.aame.in/2013/02/indian-listening-station-in-oman.html

[7]SOHAIL A. AZMIE,Regional maritime security patrols: Pak Navys initiative for preserving freedom of the seas, The Nation, June 2, 2019, https://nation.com.pk/02-Jun-2019/regional-maritime-security-patrols-pak-navy-s-initiative-for-preserving-freedom-of-the-seas

[8] Ankit Panda,What the Recently Concluded US-India COMCASA Means, The Diplomat, September 09, 2018, https://thediplomat.com/2018/09/what-the-recently-concluded-us-india-comcasa-means/

[9]Patrick M. Cronin, US Asia Strategy: Beyond the Quad, The Diplomat, March 09, 2019, https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/us-asia-strategy-beyond-the-quad/

[10]Dinakar Peri, What is LEMOA?,The Hindu, August 30, 2016,https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/What-is-LEMOA/article15604647.ecein

[11] Pradip R Sagar, Indian Navy launches Information Fusion Centre to boost maritime security, The Week, December 22, 2018, https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2018/12/22/Indian-Navy-launches-Information-Fusion-Centre-to-boost-maritime-security.html.

Related

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Maintaining Command of the Sea: Maritime Doctrines of Pakistan and India - Modern Diplomacy

The majority of the main cast are expected to return for the fourth season of High Seas if it is given the green light.

This means Pans Labyrinth star Ivana Baquero will be back as Eva Villanueva and Hazings Alejandra Onieva as Carolina.

Hopefully, Jos Sacristn will return as Pedro Villanueva, the uncle of Eva and Carolina.

Also likely to return is Begoa Vargas as Vernica de Garca, the daughter of maid Francisca and Eloy Azorn as Fernando Fbregas, Carolinas husband and owner of the transatlantic ship.

At the moment, is unknown if Brazilian actor Pigossi who played spy, Fabio in season three will return.

If Jon Kortajarena returns as officer Nicols Vzquez, it will most likely be in the form of a flashback scene.

High Seas season 3 is streaming on Netflix now

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Alta Mar season 4 Netflix release date: Will there be another series of High Seas? - Express

As governments around the world begin to sketch out plans for mining the ocean floor, its vital that they thoroughly analyze and account for the environmental harm that mining could cause.

Many governments are eager to start mining beneath the high seasareas of the ocean beyond any countrys jurisdictionbecause surveys show the potential for vast stores of oil, gas, metals, and minerals there. But the high seas are also home to a wealth of marine life, much of it highly vulnerable to human disturbances. Further, scientists estimate that many of these areas harbor thousands of species that have yet to be documented.

Thats why its imperative that no seabed mining go forward unless and until the effective protection of the marine environment can be ensured. Among other things, the International Seabed Authority (ISA)the organization that governs all mining activity in the international seabedmust require in-depth environmental impact assessments before any mining activity can begin.

A recent example of why this is necessary comes from the government of Indias ongoing effort to explore the central basin of the Indian Ocean for polymetallic nodulesrock formations on the ocean floor that develop over millions of years and contain nickel, cobalt, copper, and other valuable metals. The Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences recently submitted an environmental impact statement to the ISAwhich the authority encourages but does not requireprior to testing prototype mining equipment and solicited stakeholder input.

The Pew Charitable Trustson behalf of the Pew-sponsored Code Project, a coalition of scientists, lawyers, and regulatory specialists convened to review the ongoing development of the ISAs rules for miningsubmitted comments to the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences as part of this process. Code Project experts found that Indias impact statement contained significant gaps that, unfortunately, made it impossible to assess whether the countrys test would cause significant environmental harm or provide useful information about the effects of future commercial-scale operations.

In requiring environmental impact assessments, particularly for activities that might affect the sensitive marine life of the deep ocean, the ISA must mandate that the assessments:

Indias environmental impact statement required significant improvement on all three counts.

For example, this assessment should have provided a deeper understanding of the extent and behavior of one of the key impacts of a mining operationits sediment plume. The dust and debris from a mining vehicle could harm marine life on the seafloor and in the water column. In its statement, India should have included a sediment plume model that could have then been verified during testing. Further, the government failed to clearly describe its plans for monitoring plumes. Without those details, it will be impossible for the Indian government to make sound management decisions about future commercial mining.

This is only the second environmental impact statement submitted to the ISA for a test mine. The first, from the Belgian company Global Sea Mineral Resources in 2018, was similarly flawed, and Pew submitted feedback documenting those shortcomings at that time. Without substantial revisions, these two statements will set a deeply problematic precedent for future tests.

Moreover, these gaps lay bare the urgent need for the ISA to adopt strong environmental assessment processes. There is no clear mechanism for the ISA to review impact statements; the decision to proceed with an activity is left solely in the hands of the sponsoring country and the activitys proponent, often a for-profit company. This is a recipe for fragmented governance and unchecked environmental abuses.

Areas beyond national jurisdiction are classified by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as the common heritage of humankind. The convention therefore requires those areas to be managed with an eye toward future generations. Countries must insist that robust environmental assessments are carried out for all mining activitiesbefore they beginand the ISA must stringently review all impact statements and respond to stakeholder and scientific expert input to fulfill its duty of ensuring effective protection of the marine environment.

Andrew Friedman manages The Pew Charitable Trusts seabed mining project.

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To Protect Seabed, Countries Should Thoroughly Review Proposed Mining Projects - The Pew Charitable Trusts

Rockstar is bringing oodles of new activities to GTA Online next week to keep you entertained ahead of Grand Theft Autos biggest update ever. After the weekly reset on Tuesday, August 11, youll get a myriad of new things to do from co-op missions launched from your yacht to the new cars and Open Wheel Races.

If you own the Galaxy Super Yacht youll be able to jump into a selection of new missions by yourself or with three friends. Those missions involve a variety of things from deep-sea diving to high-speed hi-jinks on the high seas.

Rockstar also says that GTA Onlinescar retailers will be stuffed with more than a dozen new vehicles you can buy better get saving, then. Those new cars include off-roaders, turnable sports cars, and two new Open Wheel cars. If youre itching for something to do with those new cars then youll be glad to know that theres new Open Wheel Races to test them out in. If youre feeling creative, you can also use the new Open Wheel Race Creator to put together your dream street circuit.

Youll also be getting a host of general improvements and fixes alongside the usual weekly activities like the GTA 5 podium car. You can check out the Rockstar newswire post in full for all the information.

If youre looking for some more general help then our GTA money and cheats guides will sort you out.

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GTA Online is getting new missions, cars, and races next week - PCGamesN

The Puerto Rico Ports Authority (PA) has awarded auction 10-90 for the emergency repair of pier 3 on the San Juan port front.

PA Executive Director Joel Piz Batiz explained that a section on the east side of pier 3 was impacted by the Norwegian Epic cruise ship on February 12, 2019, when it was making an unplanned berthing at said pier after confronting mechanical malfunctions on the high seas.

The impact, he said, affected what is known as the "mooring dolphins" BD-5 and BD-6, as well as the walkways that connect the BD-4 to BD-5, BD-5 to BD-6, and the BD-6 to pier 3. The concrete piles supporting the mooring dolphins, bollards, and walkways collapsed on impact, dropping everything to the sea floor.

After a study process, which culminated in obtaining the federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the auction phase proceeded and has now been completed.

Repair work is estimated at $6,659,00 and will begin in upcoming weeks. The work is projected to be completed in roughly 14 months.

"Pier 3 is used mostly by transit cruises. With decreased cruise operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was important to start repairs as soon as possible. It should be noted that the cost of the repair will be borne by the insurers, so no public funds will be used for it," Piz Batiz stressed.

The project, which will use the design build method, will consist of the removal of 90 tons of collapsed structures from the seabed; reconstruction of the two mooring dolphins and collapsed piles; reinstallation of the bollards, system of defenses, and walkways; and replacement and repair of all electrical, plumbing, and lighting systems affected by the impact.

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Puerto Rico to Repair Pier 3 in San Juan - The Weekly Journal

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) is worried worried about the U.S. Navys prospects during a war against Communist China in the Western Pacific. Last week, Sen. Gardner, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, told the Washington Examiner that Chinese ballistic missiles could compel all of our planning, all of our equipment, all of our systems to basically vacate the region at outset of fighting. Both large bases and ships riding the waves, he noted, are vulnerable to missile attack.

Sen. Gardner joined a group of Republican lawmakers to coauthor the STRATEGIC Act, a bill aimed at restoring deterrence and U.S. combat supremacy. To oversimplify, the acts framers envision spreading out U.S. bases across the region, deploying new weaponry to make things tough on the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA), and rejuvenating U.S. alliances and partnerships around the exterior crescent that sweeps from Japan westward around the Asian periphery toward India. Their goal: to convince Chinese Communist Party (CCP) potentates that attacking Americas friends and allies would be a hopeless cause or, failing that, that the effort would cost China more than the gains were worth to Xi Jinping & Co.

Either way, Beijing should forego aggression.

How did the U.S. Navy get into such straits? Chiefly by talking itself into believing that victory in the Cold War was forever. In 1992, top Navy and Marine Corps leaders issued a strategy document titled ... From the Sea that declared, in effect, that there was no one left to fight now that the Soviet Navy sat rusting at its moorings. The sea belonged to the United States and its allies. It was a safe sanctuary from which to project power onto distant shores. Since there was no one left to fight and never would be, service leaders seemed to think the sea services no longer should bother developing new weapons and tactics for fighting enemy fleets on the high seas.

... From the Sea ordered the services to remake themselves into a fundamentally different naval force. And so they did. Trouble is, Beijing evidently didnt get the message that naval history had ended. The U.S. Navy lay down arms at almost the exact moment CCP leaders resolved to construct a great navy of their own, backed up by an array of land-based aircraft and cruise and ballistic missiles. Their project succeeded producing the sea force that so vexes Sen. Gardner.

Hes right to fret.

But the U.S. armed forces have options of their own turning geography to advantage, for one. Look at your map. You will notice that the first island chain, which meanders from northern Japan around to the Strait of Malacca, is made up of U.S. allies and friends, and that it forms a natural barrier to air and sea movement between the China seas and the Western Pacific. No Chinese seaport outflanks it. Small bodies of missile-armed troops on the islands, operating in concert with warships and warplanes prowling adjacent waters and skies, could bar the straits Chinese vessels must traverse to escape home waters.

In essence, Washington can threaten to lock up the PLA within the island chain. The military implications alone might give Beijing pause. So might the implications of cutting off the export- and import-driven Chinese economy from foreign harbors. Adm. Liu Huaqing, the founder of the modern PLA Navy, likened the first island chain to a metal chain fettering Chinese aspirations. Inventive U.S. strategy and force deployments could make Lius nightmare come true.

Sobriety could prevail in Beijing.

Scattering forces on and around the island chain would help ease the senators minds with regard to the ballistic-missile threat. Gen. David Berger, the Marine Corps commandant, advocates reengineering U.S. forces in the Western Pacific as stand-in forces. Rather than vacate the region to avoid PLA missile barrages, small units that pack a punch would defy them. Instead of big and glamorous, ships, planes and bases would be small, cheap, plentiful and elusive. PLA rocketeers might pick off some of them; the force as a whole would fight on.

And lastly, naval integration is all the rage nowadays in U.S. Navy and Marine circles. In the past, Marines were little more than passengers on board Navy transports ferrying them to faraway beaches. No more. Berger wants embarked Marines to take an active hand in fleet operations, especially those near shore. At the same time, the U.S. Air Force and Army are refreshing their own hardware and skills for war at sea. For example, Air Force bombers now drop sea mines ideal for plugging up straits. They also sport long-range anti-ship missiles, ship killers tailor-made for striking along the island chain.

The Pentagons goal is to forge a composite implement of sea power of which all the services sea- and ground-based form integral parts.

Turnabout is fair play in diplomacy and warfare. PLA commanders can try to deny the U.S. armed forces access to Western Pacific seas, skies and shores all they like. But American commanders can reciprocate if they apply intellect and material resources to this strategic problem, and do so with imagination and verve.

Lawmakers should make sure they do.

James R. Holmes is J. C. Wylie Chair of Maritime Strategy at the Naval War College and co-author of Red Star over the Pacific. The views voiced here are his alone.

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The US military has options against China | TheHill - The Hill