Security Constraints Threatening the Utilization of Maritime Resources in the Context of the Indian Ocean
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Date
2024-01
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Publisher
JAIS
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to investigate security constraints threatening the utilization of
maritime resources in the context of the Indian Ocean and implications on peace in the region.
The contention of the study is that the Indian Ocean has huge economic value and potential in
terms of exploration of offshore gas and oil, short and deep-sea shipping, marine aquatic
products, aquaculture and fisheries, blue biotechnology and ocean renewable energy. However, it
is faced with a myriad of security threats, such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,
transnational organized crime, environmental maritime crimes, among. The research objective
was to assess the implications of maritime security constraints on the utility of the Indian Ocean
blue economy. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design together with a
phenomenological approach to achieve thick description on the concerns of the study. The
targeted populations were security agencies operating in the area and the business community or
investors since they were the key stakeholders in the development of the blue economy. To
obtain the sample for study, cluster sampling and stratified random sampling was applied to
proportionately select primary respondents, whereas purposive sampling technique was utilized
to select key informants to obtain a sample of 384. Primary data was collected using
questionnaires and interview schedules. SPSS (Version 24) software was used to compute
descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Thematic analysis was also used to analyze
qualitative data from open-ended questions and presented along quantitative data. The results
from questionnaire and tools were triangulated to obtain a thick description. The findings of the
study revealed that Indian Ocean had huge blue economy potential in terms of provision of
livelihoods to the coastal people in addition to the investment opportunities to several onshore
and offshore businesses, such tourism, transport, mineral exploration, among others. However,
this potential is faced with a myriad of security issues, such as large sea area, sophisticated
piracy networks and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
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Citation
Nkubitu, J. M., Sirera, M., & Mwatha, R. (2024). Security Constraints Threatening the Utilization of Maritime Resources in the Context of the Indian Ocean. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 8(1), 46-65.