The Western Indian Ocean has become one of the world’s most crowded maritime security theatres, but a new Frontiers in Political Science study argues that the region’s current security framework is still too fragmented to deal with the scale and variety of threats it faces. The article says the architecture built around piracy suppression and limited cooperation has not kept pace with a changing environment shaped by organised crime, cyber risk, environmental strain and climate pressures, all set against intensifying competition among outside powers.

At the heart of the problem, the study says, is a mismatch between the region’s shared vulnerabilities and the way security is organised in practice. The Djibouti Code of Conduct, the Indian Ocean Rim Association, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia and the African Union’s long-term maritime strategy have all added useful tools, but they operate with overlapping mandates and uneven political backing. According to the Frontiers paper, this has left the region dependent on external naval and donor support, rather than anchored in a durable, locally driven system.

The article places the issue in historical context, tracing how Cold War rivalries and post-Cold War intervention shaped today’s maritime order. It argues that the Horn of Africa and the wider western Indian Ocean were never merely coastal spaces, but strategic corridors tied to global trade, military access and energy flows. That legacy has continued into the present, with major powers and regional actors pursuing naval facilities, port influence and logistics networks, while states such as Kenya remain caught between the opportunities of maritime cooperation and the limitations of weak coordination at home.

The threat picture, the study says, is far broader than piracy alone. Somali piracy may have receded since its peak, but illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling, maritime terrorism, pollution and cyber vulnerabilities all remain live concerns. The article also highlights climate-linked pressures, including coastal erosion, sea-level rise, coral bleaching and storm damage, which are increasingly blurring the line between security, livelihoods and environmental governance.

Its central conclusion is that the region needs a more coherent and African-led approach. That would mean tighter institutional coordination, stronger enforcement capacity, better legal harmonisation and less reliance on outside actors whose priorities may not match local needs. The study argues that without that shift, the western Indian Ocean will remain governed by a patchwork of responses rather than a resilient maritime security system.

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Source: Noah Wire Services