For I dipp’d into the future, far as human eye could see, Saw the vision of the world, and all the wonders that would be; Saw the heavens fill with commerce, argosies of magic sails Pilots of the purple twilight, dropping down with costly bales; Heard the heavens filled with shouting, and there rain’d a ghastly dew, From the nations’ airy navies grappling in the…
Intricacies of the Maritime Domain
Abstract From an historical perspective, activities at sea can be characterised by coastal trade, transoceanic passages, piracy, subjugation, profiteering and colonisation, a subsidiary objective being the gaining of ascendency on land. The maritime field has over time undergone a drastic transformation, both on the military and non-military fronts. Amongst a horde of other activities, sea connectivity and trade take pride of place as drivers of…
Appraisal of the Military Strategies of Major Powers in the Indian Ocean
Though one amongst the three large bodies of water that link countries and continents together, the Indian Ocean stands apart by virtue of its unique topography and its monsoonal wind patterns. Despite being enclosed on three sides by a contiguous land mass, with the fourth side constrained by the forces of nature, this ocean has always been receptive to coastal and transoceanic trade. Its periphery…
Suez and Panama Canals – Feats of Human Ingenuity
During the heydays of the British Empire, when it was entrenching itself ever so firmly in the heart of the Indian Ocean, it could not have failed to appreciate the strategic and economic advantages that a direct trade route through the Red Sea and the Mediterranean would confer. The two seas had after all been historically linked for millennia, till an eighth century Abbasid Caliph…
Emerging Opportunities in the Indian Ocean Sea Trade Regime
Sea trade has been universally recognized as the principal driver of the global economy. It was however in the Indian Ocean that coastal trade as well as transoceanic passages are believed to have originated. This ocean is also unique in the sense that its wide expanse is enclosed on three sides by land, while the southern perimeter is hemmed in by the forces of nature,…
CPEC – Maritime Opportunities for Pakistan
CPEC has been variously referred to as an earth-shattering development and as a game changer. It is that of course, though it may be worth noting that far more important than conceiving and executing a project is the ability to make it work. CPEC after all is all about connectivity, a connection that is as strong as the weakest link in the chain. So…
Tapping Pakistan’s Maritime Potential(Abridged Version)
It is not uncommon for analysts to bemoan our alleged sea blindness, a term reportedly coined and popularized by Professor Eric Grove. The hype surrounding Gwadar has ensured that one maritime entity at least has been catapulted into the forefront of the public consciousness. But seen in the broader context of a blue water economy, is that all there is to it? Strategically located along…
Tapping Pakistan’s Maritime Potential
It is heartening to see the vital subject of the maritime economy gain some recognition in our national planning discourse as my presence here shows. After all, it was barely an year ago that a member of the Planning Comission had confided in a meeting that none of the 13 indicators that the Commission had identified for zooming in incorporated anything even remotely connected with…
Primed for Disaster – Gadani’s Ship-Breaking Industry
On completion of their operational lives, all ships need to be disposed off, and the most beneficial way of doing so, in theory at least, is to send them for recycling where it’s machinery, equipment and hull can all be reutilised in one way or another, without adversely impacting the environment. In practice though the process is environmentally unsound and labour exploitative, as the industry…
The Indus Delta’s Perrenial Perils
The most significant feature of Pakistan’s coastline is not the hammerhead of Gwadar jutting out majestically into the sea but the Indus Delta region covering the entire south western swathe of the coast. This topographical landmark is prominent from an ecological angle also as around 25 creeks drain into its 150 km wide mouth, with the port city of Karachi continuously intruding into its western…
