Maritime Security. International Law and Policy Perspectives from Australia and New Zealand. Ed. Natalie Klein, Joanna Mossop and Donald R Rothwell

• Author: Michael Underdown
• Position: Special Counsel, Clayton Utz
• Pages: 43-45

(2010) 24 A&NZ Mar LJ 43

BOO K REVIEW

Nata lie Klein, Joa nna Mossop and Donald R Ro thwell,(eds) Maritime

Se curity: Inte rnational Law and Polic y Perspective s from Australia and

Ne w Ze aland. Routledge (2009). xxiv, 277 pp.

[ISBN 978-0-415-48426]

Dr Mic hae l Unde rdo wn∗

The publisher considers that this work ‘will be of great interest to scholars of international law, international

relations and maritime affairs, maritime industry professionals, private and government lawyers, as well as

diplomats, consuls and government officials.’

While I am confident that the book will be well received by the first category and probably also by certain

government lawyers and officials, I am less than convinced of its wider value. As a practising maritime and port

lawyer, I believe that only certain aspects of the book are of direct relevance to the work of maritime lawyers or

maritime industry professionals, who do not usually focus on maritime security on a daily basis. Specifically, I am

referring to Stuart Kaye's chapter ‘The Protection of Platforms, Pipelines and Submarine Cables under Australian

and New Zealand Law,’ which is the standout contribution, the discussion of piracy in Don Rothwell's chapter

‘Maritime Security in the Twenty-First Century’ and the brief discussion of the Container Security Initiative in

Shirley Scott's chapter ‘Whose Security is it and how much of it do we want?’ I am also not quite sure why consuls

figure in the publisher's list. When I studied Consular Law at the University of Cologne under Professor (later

Federal President) Karl Carstens, I am sure we did not touch on anything covered in this book.

Of course, wearing my hat as a lecturer in both Maritime Law and Law of the Sea, there is much of interest in this

work.

In the opening chapter, Natalie Klein Joanna Mossop and Don Rothwell provide a generally good overview of

Australian and New Zealand perspectives on maritime security, although I miss an historical perspective. There is,

for example, no consideration of the many historical influences on the maritime security of the two countries, such

as the French and Russian scares, extensive trade with Chile, colonial interests throughout the Pacific (as far as

Tahiti and Easter Island), the visit of the Great White Fleet and even the alliance with the Imperial Japanese Navy.

And while an effort is made to explain the term ‘maritime security’, there is only scant reference to security in ports,

which is of real concern to all shippers and carriers, not to mention a range of government agencies in both

countries. The two maps showing the maritime zones and continental shelves of both Australia and New Zealand,

the extent of which may come as a surprise to some readers, highlights the importance of maritime security to both

countries.

As one would expect, Don Rothwell and Natalie Klein have provided a thorough overview of the interplay between

the Law of the Sea and maritime security, although I find the abbreviation LOSC instead of the more usual

UNCLOS (Churchill and Lowe, amongst others) somewhat grating. Particularly useful is a discussion of marine

environmental securi ty, in which field the underlying conven tions (Basel, Waigani, SPREP) are less well known.

Don Rothwell and Cameron Moore discuss a number of current developments, including the Australian Maritime

Identification System, Torres Strait and Japanese whaling, in their chapter ‘Australia's Traditional Maritime Security

Concerns and Post-9/11 Perspectives’. However, in my view, the issue of Japanese whaling and, from a maritime

security point of view, the actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which are also considered in Karen

Scott's excellent chapter ‘Maritime Security and Shipping Safety in the Southern Ocean,’ deserved much greater

attention. The same general theme is also treated by Peter Cozens in his contribution ‘Maritime Security and Oceans

Policy.’

Joanna Mossop has contributed a useful account of ‘Maritime Security in New Zealand.’ It is important to note the

significance of the fishing industry to the New Zealand economy and the efforts of New Zealand government

∗ Special Counsel, Clayton Ut z.