Maritime Security

Maritime Security

Seaborne commerce and freedom of navigation are inextricably intertwined, with both contributing to the success and prosperity of the liberal world order. But maritime security is under threat both from great-power competitors and from non-state actors. Policy makers must come up with new solutions to resolve threats to maritime security and to secure a free and open maritime system in cooperation with allies and partners.

Cheap ways to make Putin pay in Ukraine

TURKEYSource Nov 13, 2024

Quiet before the storm: Is a new maritime security order taking shape in the Black Sea region?

By Serhat Güvenç

While Turkey and Europe have their own maritime strategies for the Black Sea, finding ways of cooperation is critical to counter Russia’s maritime power.
Eastern Europe Europe & Eurasia
Cheap ways to make Putin pay in Ukraine

New Atlanticist Oct 24, 2024

Dispatch from Taiwan: China’s military drills look more frightening outside of Taiwan than from inside

By Brian Kerg

The US and its allies took note when China launched large military exercises around Taiwan just after October 10. But it’s also important to pay attention to how Taiwanese reacted to Beijing’s saber-rattling.
China East Asia
Cheap ways to make Putin pay in Ukraine

New Atlanticist Oct 15, 2024

How the US and the Philippines should counter Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea

By Elizabeth Freund Larus and James Rice

Washington, Manila, and their Indo-Pacific allies must work together to counter China’s maritime aggression in Philippine waters.
China Indo-Pacific

Content

UkraineAlert

Jan 4, 2019

Cheap ways to make Putin pay in Ukraine

By John E. Herbst

Six weeks ago, Russia attacked Ukraine in the Straits of Kerch and it made international news. US President Donald Trump canceled a high-level meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in response. Other governments denounced the Kremlin’s actions. Then the news faded. Right now, the weak Western response means that Putin has gained a tactical advantage, […]

Conflict Elections

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2018

Beware the lure of sanctions for Russia’s latest aggression

By Brian O'Toole

While sanctions may be useful to threaten Russia to rectify this situation, any imposition of them needs to be more strategically deployed—ideally with the EU—and lifted only for more strategic gains, vice resolution of this specific incident.

Conflict Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion

New Atlanticist

Nov 26, 2018

Another Ukraine crisis tests US resolve

By Mark David Simakovsky

The United States should also work quickly and quietly to engage both the Russian and Ukrainian governments on the incident, warning them of the risks of further provocations and the need to find a way to ensure full and responsible Ukrainian access to its cities on the Sea of Azov.  

Financial Sanctions and Economic Coercion Maritime Security

New Atlanticist

Nov 25, 2018

Russia-Ukraine conflict heats up the Sea of Azov: Echoes of Russia’s war with georgia?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

“For months, Russian forces have been working to make the Azov Sea an internal Russian body of water in order to both cut off Ukraine’s eastern ports and cement Moscow’s hold on Crimea,” said Damon Wilson, executive vice president of the Atlantic Council.

Conflict Maritime Security
Murky Waters: Maritime Security in the East and South China Seas

Event Recap

Apr 5, 2018

Murky waters: Maritime security in the East and South China Seas

By Shaun Ee

What is the state of play in the East and South China Seas, and what might be the future of maritime rules and norms in the region? To answer these questions, the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security convened several experts for a public panel discussion on March 30, 2018. With panelists representing […]

China International Norms

Report

Mar 19, 2018

Kremlin aggression in Ukraine: the price tag

By Anders Åslund

“Since the annexation, Russia has carried out extensive confiscation of public and private property, which it has referred to as ‘nationalization’ under Russian Federation legislation,” writes Dr. Anders Åslund, in Kremlin Aggression in Ukraine: The Price Tag, a new report by the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. If Kyiv loses the occupied Crimea and Donbas forever, […]

Conflict Defense Policy

Issue Brief

Feb 28, 2018

Maritime defense for the Baltic states

By Magnus Nordenman

The maritime domain is increasingly a priority for NATO as the alliance seeks to bolster its defense and deterrence posture in Europe’s north and east. Much work remains to be done in terms of NATO’s maritime posture and the maritime capabilities and capacities of its members. The maritime domain presents a unique challenge for NATO’s […]

Maritime Security NATO

Issue Brief

Feb 28, 2018

Maritime defense for the Baltic states

By Magnus Nordenman

The maritime domain is increasingly a priority for NATO as the alliance seeks to bolster its defense and deterrence posture in Europe’s north and east. Much work remains to be done in terms of NATO’s maritime posture and the maritime capabilities and capacities of its members. The maritime domain presents a unique challenge for NATO’s […]

Maritime Security NATO

Report

Nov 7, 2017

The Sino-Indian clash and the new geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific

By Bharath Gopalaswamy and Robert Manning

On June 18, 2017, an Indian patrol disrupted construction of a Chinese road along the disputed border of Sikkim, a remote state in northeast India, reigniting a border conflict between China and India. This incident rapidly evolved into a standoff, with the apparent threat of militarized escalation between the two countries. The tension dissipated without […]

Indo-Pacific Maritime Security

Defense Industrialist

Oct 3, 2017

The military implications of Catalonian secession—an update

By James Hasik

assuming that Catalonia was admitted to NATO, what would the newly independent country contribute? At the 2014 Strategic Foresight Forum at the Atlantic Council, Anne Marie Slaughter of the New America Foundation opined that an independent Catalonia would do a fine job of defending itself. After all, Catalonia is a country of over 7 million people, with more than $300 billion in GDP. Spending just 1.6% of that—well below the widely-ignored NATO threshold, of course—provides over $4.5 billion annually. y de-emphasizing the military forces that any landlocked country will have, and instead steering investments towards those it is comparatively positioned to provide, Catalonia could punch above its weight in European political affairs.

Defense Policy Eastern Europe
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Experts

Fellow

Sarah Kirchberger

Nonresident Senior Fellow

GeoStrategy Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Industry

Fellow

Narushige Michishita

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Crisis Management Defense Policy

Fellow

Magnus Nordenman

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Forward Defense Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

Defense Industry Defense Policy

Fellow

Marvin J. Park

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Indo-Pacific Security Initiative Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security

China Defense Policy

Fellow

Maisie Pigeon

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Africa Center

Africa Financial Crimes & Illicit Trade

Millennium fellow

Cassandra Roper

Project Manager, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems

Global Leadership Center

Maritime Security Nuclear Nonproliferation
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Events

Online Event Tue, November 10, 2026 • 3:00 pm ET

Elisabeth Braw on “Undersea War” and the battle over cables and pipelines
Europe & Eurasia Maritime Security Security & Defense