Protecting Cable Laying Ships in Gulf of Aden and Off Somalia

 List 25 published on 11 July 2026 an analysis titled "Navies Protect Cable Ships from Pirate Skiffs: The Full Story" by Anant Gupta.

Fiber-optic cable laying ships in the Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea, and waters off Somalia are especially vulnerable to pirate attacks.  This analysis explains why they are vulnerable and efforts to protect them as they perform their vital functions.

China's Distant-Water Fishing in Indian Ocean Has Multiple Motives

 Mizzima, a non-profit foundation that supports social change and development in Myanmar, published on 28 January 2026 a commentary titled "Weaponising the Trawl: China's Maritime Militia, Distant-Water Fishing, and the Strategic Contest in the Indian Ocean."

Chinese fishing fleets maintain a massive presence in the Indian Ocean region.  What appears on the surface as fishing is, in practice, a grey-zone strategy, blending economic exploitation, intelligence gathering, and coercive presence to reshape the maritime realities without triggering open conflict.

In addition, see Sweekriti Pathak's "Fishing and Force: China's Dark Fleets and Maritime Militias" dated 29 January 2026 published by India's Observer Research Foundation.  

Analysis of Impact of Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Shipping

 The Atlantic Council published on 9 August 2024 a report titled "What Attacks on Shipping Mean for the Global Maritime Order" by Elisabeth Braw.

This report discusses the history of attacks on shipping, the rules implemented to keep shipping safe, and the new and serious threat posed by Houthi attacks.  The focus of the report is on the current Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

Video on Protecting Shipping in the Red Sea

 The What is Going on With Shipping? channel posted on YouTube on 14 June 2024 a 21-minute video titled "Whose Prosperity Are We Guarding?"

Houthi missile and drone attacks from Yemen aimed at international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have driven up the cost of war risk insurance even if they have had minimal success in actually hitting ships.  They have also caused a significant reduction in the passage of ships through the Suez Canal and Red Sea.  At the same time, the number of American and European navy vessels protecting shipping through the Red Sea is down.  

Most of the ships still navigating these waters are associated with China, Russia, Iran, and Global South countries. This raises the question as to who should be providing the protection and the most effective way to do it. The author of the video suggests it is time to institute convoy operations for those ships passing through the Red Sea whose owners are willing to pay a fee for the service.  At the moment, Western navies are providing protection for very few ships that have any connection with Western countries.    

Red Sea Crisis Exposes Africa's Maritime Vulnerability

 The Africa Center for Strategic Studies published on 9 April 2024 an analysis titled "Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean Attacks Expose Africa's Maritime Vulnerability" by Francois Vrey, Stellenbosch University, and Mark Blaine, retired combat officer with the South African Navy.

African citizens are paying the price of delays, more expensive consumer goods, disruption to local economic entities, and polluted waterways from Houthi maritime attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.  Africa's ports are struggling to handle the current volume of freight and cope with the security impacts from these delays and late arrivals.  The crisis calls for a recalibration of African maritime security efforts to help keep the trade routes open, safeguard communications cables, and protect the rule of law.

Ethiopia's Quest for Access to the Red Sea

 Ethiopia Insight published on 26 November 2023 a commentary titled "The Horn of Africa Needs More Trade--But Not at the Cost of More War" by Muktar Ismail, former UN staff member.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's pursuit, by force if necessary, of access to the Red Sea is ill-timed following major conflict in the country.  Ethiopia needs to pursue this goal peacefully, perhaps through the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea legal framework that permits landlocked countries like Ethiopia to assert their access rights.  

China's Foreign Policy in the Arctic and Africa

 The latest issue of Arctic Review on Law and Politics published a study titled "The Arctic and Africa in China's Foreign Policy: How Different Are They and What Does This Tell Us?" by Christer Pursiainen, Chris Alden, and Rasmus Bertelsen.  

Just when you thought every conceivable China-Africa topic has been covered, we have this piece that compares China's policies towards the Arctic and Africa.  It concludes that China's regional strategies aptly reflect the overall grand strategy of a country that is slowly but surely aiming at taking on the role of leading global superpower.  

Somaliland Complains about Chinese Companies Fishing Offshore

Defense One posted on 22 March 2019 a statement titled "To Protect Africa's Oceans, Stand Up to China" by Yasin Hagi Mohamoud, foreign minister of Somaliland.

Somaliland declared unilateral independence from Somalia in 1991 and, therefore, denies the right of Somalia to make decisions concerning territory that it claims. Somalia's recent decision to grant licenses to Chinese companies to fish in territorial waters claimed by Somaliland is a case in point. Somaliland Foreign Minister Yasin Hagi Mohamoud argues that China is not the only country with predatory fishing fleets, but its boats are the ones that have been invited into Somaliland's waters. Absent an agreement with Somaliland's Ministry of Fisheries in adherence with Somaliland law, he argues that Chinese fishermen would be imprudent to venture into Somaliland's territorial waters.

How China Sees the Global Order

The European Council on Foreign Relations published on 9 March 2017 an analysis titled "Expanded Ambitions, Shrinking Achievements: How China Sees the Global Order" by Francois Godement.

The author concludes that Europe should not expect China to replace the US as a dependable bastion of a free-trading and rules-based world order. At the same time, China's political system affords opportunities for sectoral cooperation when it matches Chinese interests such as participation in peacekeeping operations in Mali and South Sudan.

The Indian Ocean and Deep Seabed Mining

Young Diplomats posted on 3 February 2017 my comments titled "The Indian Ocean and Deep Seabed Mining."

The posting argues that deep seabed mining, which is still five to ten years from reality, poses a number of serious environmental and geopolitical issues that have not yet been resolved satisfactorily. Although there has been more interest in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Indian Ocean is fast becoming a focus for deep seabed mining, especially for China and India.

The Young Diplomats' editorial team consists of young international relations experts from around the world. The website at www.young-diplomats.com covers a wide variety of international issues.

A Greater Maritime Role for China in the Gulf of Guinea?

The China Brief published on 9 January 2015 an analysis titled "Maritime Insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea: A Greater Role for China?" by Hang Zhou and Katharina Seibel. 

In 2012, attacks on ships off the Gulf of Guinea for the first time exceeded the number of attacks by Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden.  A couple of Chinese vessels and additional Chinese nationals on vessels from other countries have been subject to attack.  Except for the sale of coastal patrol boats to countries in and near the Gulf of Guinea, China has not been especially active compared to the US and European Union in trying to stem the problem.  The authors wonder if the time has come for China to become more engaged in countering piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.