Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)

A lesson from 1958 could help deter China from taking Taiwan

Posted on by

Defense One – As China applies increasing military pressure against Taiwan, it’s worth considering an earlier era when conditions were much worse. In the fall of 1958, four countries—United States, Soviet Union, People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China (Taiwan)—found themselves on the brink of nuclear war. The incident, which would later be known as the second Taiwan Strait Crisis, led to a rupture in Sino-Soviet relations and altered the trajectory of the Cold War. Revisiting it reminds us of an element of deterrence that is getting short shrift today.

World First: Ukrainian Maritime Drone Shoots Down Russian Flanker Jet

Posted on by

Naval News – A Ukrainian maritime drone operated by Group 13 of military intelligence (HUR) has made history, being the first uncrewed vessel to successfully shoot down an enemy fast jet. The historic event took place on May 2 close to the strategic Russian naval base of Novorossiysk in the eastern Black Sea. This single event reflects the rapidly changing world of naval warfare.

Achieving Depth: Subsea Telecommunications Cables as Critical Infrastructure

Posted on by

UN – Today, submarine fibre-optic telecommunications cable systems are the backbone of our data and communications infrastructure, essential to the general functioning and integrity of the internet and the broader information and communications technology (ICT) ecosystem. While satellites and the new constellations in low Earth orbit are breaking ground, especially in terms of lowering costs and accessibility, they are still no match to the high capacity and low latency that today’s subsea cable systems provide. As more countries are connected, the security and resilience of the infrastructure becomes ever more critical.

In 2023, UNIDIR published its first report on subsea cables, entitled Wading Murky Waters: Subsea Communications Cables and Responsible State Behaviour. The initial scoping study sought to raise awareness of this essential transmission technology. Since then, a slew of new initiatives have been proposed, including at the international level, signalling both the strategic importance of the infrastructure and the need to strengthen security and resilience across all of its components.

This follow-on study sets out to understand what it means in policy and practice when governments qualify or designate subsea telecommunications cables as critical infrastructure (CI). The report draws from the CI literature to frame government approaches to security and resilience, identifying how government policy and practice interact with core CI concepts such as absorptive, restorative and adaptive resilience capacities. While subsea cable systems are generally designed and deployed with these capacities in mind, effective government action on security and resilience can contribute to strengthening them.

In Our Neighborhood: The United States’ Need to Address China’s Port Dominance in West Africa​

Posted on by

Center for Maritime Security – A report published this March by the African Center for Strategic Studies revealed China’s large and growing influence in Africa’s port industry. According to the report, state-backed Chinese firms have ownership stakes in a third of African ports, with the largest portion of those ports being in West Africa. Even more alarmingly for the United States, many of these ports have already been used to house People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ships, conduct military exercises, and, in one case, host a Chinese naval base. A large Chinese presence in West African ports poses a security threat to the United States because it increases the PLAN’s presence in the Atlantic, which is in the United States’ direct security periphery and is less defensible than the Pacific.  

Learning from the Royal Navy: Lessons for the USN on Sea Power Politics​

Posted on by

Center for Maritime Security – The U.S. Navy can learn from the Royal Navy by analysing mistakes it made in educating -or not educating- the British government about seapower. Across all naval, maritime, and wider defense and security debates, the baseline fact is that if education on the relationship between the sea and state is not carefully managed, all the efforts of seapower can be quickly undone. From that sea-state nexus flows political discussion, policy, funding, and direction. In short, why do nations invest in these costly, complex organizations known as navies? Land and land-based air perspectives have always been easy paths for policy; this is perfectly natural, as humans are land-dwellers who cannot see over the horizon. Consider how outer space was and remains such a challenge, maritime in nature but resistant to mastery due to vast distance. Shortsightedness is why the perpetual, pernicious and permanent challenge of ‘seablindness’ exists. It cannot be defeated, nor overcome, but it can be tamed.  

Modernization as Readiness in the US Marine Corps

Posted on by

War on the Rocks – Modernization as readiness is a journey that requires the Marine Corps to move out now. The service can no longer afford to move at the pace of the future years’ defense plan. The horizon for pursuing advanced technologies is moving ever closer and the Marine Corps can longer afford to innovate at the pace of money. The commandant has been clear-eyed on how the Marine Corps will be postured for near-peer conflict, crisis response, and future warfare. Service efforts to pursue high-end intelligent systems and supporting capabilities will not only make the Marine Corps more lethal but help avoid the false dilemma of modernization versus readiness.

The Caribbean Sea: A Strategic Area With Many US Allies and Partners

Posted on by

CIMSEC – Washington has many allies and partners across the Greater Caribbean, particularly among the region’s English-speaking nations. Despite having limited budgets and assets, the defense forces of the English-speaking Caribbean are training and increasing their capabilities to carry out missions, which aligns with US diplomatic and military objectives.

Keeping America Engaged: Three Possibilities For European Navies

Posted on by

CIMSEC – To keep the U.S. engaged in the waters around Europe, European NATO members must find areas of common interest with the U.S. The threat of China to both European and American security interests creates many such opportunities. By monitoring China’s activities in the Arctic, becoming more active in the Indo-Pacific, and buying American, Europeans can maintain a strong military and industrial link to the U.S. even if U.S. military presence in and around Europe shrinks in the near future.