Maritime Affairs Program

The ICAS Maritime Affairs Program (MAP) stimulates intellectual research and exchanges on ocean governance in the global maritime domain.

MAP Spotlights

Maritime Affairs Program Spotlights are a short-form written background and analysis of a specific issue related to maritime affairs, which changes with each issue. The goal of the Spotlight is to help our readers quickly and accurately understand the basic background of a vital topic in maritime affairs and how that topic relates to ongoing developments today.

There is a new Spotlight released with each issue of the ICAS Maritime Affairs Program (MAP) Handbill – a regular newsletter released the last Tuesday of every month that highlights the major news stories, research products, analyses, and events occurring in or with regard to the global maritime domain during the past month.

Join in the conversation on Twitter at #ICASMAP and #MAPWave.

Japan’s Growing Maritime Defense Industry

By Yilun Zhang
(February 2026)

Japan’s Growing Maritime Defense Industry

Japan’s maritime defense industry has entered a new phase of expansion amid rising regional security tensions and a shift in Tokyo’s national strategy. Over the past several years, Japan has steadily increased its defense spending, committing to raise military expenditures to 2% of GDP—bringing it in line with NATO standards...

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U.S. Military Operations Against Venezuela

By Jules Montanez
(January 2026)

U.S. Military Operations Against Venezuela

Tensions between the United States and Venezuela have been escalating for decades and are rooted in disputes over democratic governance, economic sanctions, and control of Venezuela’s oil reserves. Bilateral relations between the United States and Venezuela began to deteriorate after President Hugo Chávez's rise to power in 1999 due to him campaigning on an anti-US and anti-establishment platform. In 2001...

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Hainan Free Trade Port

By Yilun Zhang
(December 2025)

Hainan Free Trade Port

The development of the Hainan Free Trade Port has been years in the making and reflects China’s broader strategy of using designated zones to pilot institutional reforms. From the outset, Hainan was not envisioned as another industrial cluster but as a regulatory and administrative laboratory—one capable of testing more open tax regimes, streamlined mobility rules, digital-trade frameworks, and service-sector liberalization...

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The IMO and Global Maritime Decarbonization

By Zhangchen Wang
(November 2025)

The IMO and Global Maritime Decarbonization

Maritime transportation is central to global commerce, carrying more than 80 percent of traded goods worldwide. To provide coherent and uniform oversight for this international system, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) was established under the United Nations framework to develop global rules for international shipping in 1958. The IMO now includes 175 member states and serves as the central venue where governments...

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Interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in International Waters

By Jules Montanez
(October 2025)

Interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla in International Waters

After the military takeover of Hamas in Gaza in 2007, Israel has intensified its blockade on the strip. Exit and entry into Gaza by air and sea is prohibited. There are only three crossings which are controlled by Israel and Egypt. Palestinian movement, imports, and exports are heavily restricted, virtually isolating those within Gaza. After October 7th, Israel announced a “total” blockade...

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Counter Narcotic Operations in the Caribbean Sea

By Yilun Zhang
(September 2025)

Counter Narcotic Operations in the Caribbean Sea

Since the 1980s, Washington has framed Latin America’s drug trade as both a domestic crisis and a strategic security threat. Counter-narcotics operations have long provided the rationale for U.S. military and intelligence presence in the Caribbean and beyond. Under President Trump, this logic has been elevated: the “war on drugs” is presented not just as law enforcement but as a pillar of national defense and regional order...

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The Aircraft Carrier 'Fujian'

By Letong Qian
(August 2025)

The Aircraft Carrier Fujian

The Fujian (Type 003) is China’s third aircraft carrier and the most advanced warship ever constructed for the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Officially launched on June 17, 2022, it is the first Chinese carrier to be equipped with a catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system, employing the electromagnetic catapults (EMALS). With a full-load displacement exceeding 80,000 tons and a flat, expansive flight deck...

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International LNG Shipping

By Yunchao Mao
(July 2025)

International LNG Shipping

The demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is gradually increasing in the global energy market. There are three factors that have contributed to the rising global demand for natural gas. When burned, it pollutes less than crude oil and coal, making natural gas more appealing to nations with climate targets....

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Tracking the USS Nimitz

By Letong Qian
(June 2025)

Tracking the USS Nimitz

The USS Chester W. Nimitz (CVN-68) is the lead ship of the Nimitz-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier built by the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1975, the ship has a displacement of over 100,000 tons, making it the largest commissioned warship in the world at the time...

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Emissions Strategy for Maritime Shipping

By Kailyn Provitt
(May 2025)

Emissions Strategy for Maritime Shipping

Maritime transport is essential to global trade but remains a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, prompting efforts to decarbonize through international regulations, technological innovations, and alternative fuels...

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U.S. Tariffs on Shipbuilding

By Zichong Ye
(April 2025)

U.S. Tariffs on Shipbuilding

The U.S. has launched new tariffs and port fees targeting China’s shipbuilding industry after a Section 301 investigation found extensive state subsidies and restrictive trade practices, aiming to counter China’s dominance and support domestic shipbuilding. However, the measures have sparked strong backlash from industry stakeholders...

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The U.S. Shipbuilding Industry

By Yilun Zhang
(March 2025)

The U.S. Shipbuilding Industry

Once a dominant force in global maritime production in the mid-20th century, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has been in a prolonged and steady decline since the end of the 1980s...

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Renaming the Gulf of Mexico

By Kailyn Provitt
(February 2025)

Renaming the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico has been known by various names, including indigenous names like Chalchiuhtlicueyecatl and Nahá, as well as European names like "Sea of the North" and "Gulf of Florida". Recently, there have been controversies surrounding attempts to rename it...

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Offshore Wind Power

By Jessica Martin
(January 2025)

Offshore Wind Power

Offshore wind power is a type of clean and renewable electrical energy that is captured and generated by the wind-driven rotation of wind turbines located offshore, which can then, through a series of electrical connections, be stably collected, transmitted and utilized...

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J-35A Stealth Fighter

By Yilun Zhang
(December 2024)

J-35A Stealth Fighter

The J-35A is the People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN’s) newest stealth fighter that has enhanced stealth capabilities and is holistically expected to further strengthen China’s naval power...

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Port of Chancay

By Jessica Martin
(November 2024)

Port of Chancay

The Port of Chancay (Puerto de Chancay) is a multipurpose, deep-water megaport located in the city of Chancay, Peru that opened in November 2024 following a five-year, $1.3 billion renovation as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative...

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U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs

By Zhangchen Wang
(October 2024)

U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs

The U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Affairs is a position in the U.S. government that was established in 2022 to enhance America’s role in the Arctic, a maritime region that has become increasingly central to global geopolitics, economics, and environmental concerns...

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IUU Fishing

By Jessica Martin
(September 2024)

IUU Fishing

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is a broad term that generally refers to the fishing and fishing-related activities that violate or circumvent fisheries laws and regulations that are designed to prevent overfishing and the resulting dangerous ecological imbalances...

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The Nord Stream Pipelines

By Yilun Zhang
(August 2024)

The Nord Stream Pipelines

The Nord Stream pipelines, run by Nord Stream AG, an international consortium of five major companies established in 2005, were built to transport natural gas directly from Russia to Europe...

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ITLOS

By Wyatt Huang
(June 2024)

ITLOS

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an independent, international judicial body established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)...

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Icebreakers

By Jessica Martin
(July 2024)

Icebreakers

Icebreakers are marine vessels uniquely designed to break ice and make ice-covered waters accessible, either for their own passage or for the passage of other ships through icy landscapes...

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Baltic Sea

By Jessica Martin
(May 2024)

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a large, shallow, brackish inland sea of the North Atlantic Ocean found in the northeastern part of the European continent...

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Hainan

By Yilun Zhang
(April 2024)

Hainan

Hainan is an island province directly south of China’s mainland. The province administers the island of Hainan, which is the largest island of mainland China, and various smaller islands in the South China Sea...

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Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

By Ao Gu
(March 2024)

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), also known as underwater drones, are submersible vehicles that can operate underwater without a human occupant...

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Offshore Drilling

By Zhangchen Wang
(February 2024)

Offshore Drilling

Offshore drilling refers to the process of extracting oil and gas reserves that lie underneath the Earth’s seabed...

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Deep-Sea Mining

By Amanda Jin
(January 2024)

Deep-Sea Mining

Deep-sea mining commonly refers to the extraction or retrieval of mineral deposits from ocean floor at or below 200 meters (656 feet)—an area believed to contain rich resources of valuable and critical minerals...

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The Red Sea

By Jessica Martin
(December 2023)

The Red Sea

The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, roughly 1,200 miles long and 190 miles wide at its widest point, that separates the African and Asian continents and connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Arabian Sea...

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Submarine Volcanoes

By Jacqueline Cheng
(November 2023)

Submarine Volcanoes

Submarine volcanoes, also referred to as volcanic seamounts, are volcanoes that are located below sea level...

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Air Interception and Close Encounters

By Yilun Zhang
(October 2023)

Air Interception and Close Encounters

‘Interception’ is a technical aviation term that is usually used to describe the practice of a military flight to intercept another unidentified or unregistered aircraft in a restricted or prohibited airspace...

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The Panama Canal

By Jessica Martin
(September 2023)

The Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a 77 km man-made waterway, completed in 1914, that cuts through the Isthmus of Panama and allows ships from around the world to drastically reduce travel time between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean...

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Ocean Temperature

By Zhangchen Wang
(August 2023)

Ocean Temperature

Ocean temperature, a term used to refer to both the temperature of the ocean at any depth as well as the temperature of the ocean deep under the surface, plays an integral role in influencing the ecosystems...

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Nine-Dash Line

By Alec Caruana
(July 2023)

Nine-Dash Line

The ‘nine-dash line’ is one of many names for a controversial Chinese maritime claim in the South China Sea...

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Maritime Search and Rescue

By Jessica Martin
(June 2023)

Maritime Search and Rescue

In general, maritime search and rescue (SAR) is a maritime safety operation referring to the highly coordinated efforts to provide assistance to persons or vessels in distress at sea, which is usually given regardless of their status or nationality...

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U.S. Shipping Reforms

By Amanda Jin
(May 2023)

U.S. Shipping Reforms

Maritime shipping is an important cornerstone of U.S. trade and economy and the leading mode of transportation for both U.S. imports and exports...

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Joint Naval Exercise

By Jessica Martin
(April 2023)

Joint Naval Exercise

Joint military exercises is a relatively new strategic concept credited to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alliance who has been conducting such exercises since 1951...

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Strait of Malacca

By Yilun Zhang
(March 2023)

Strait of Malacca

The Strait of Malacca is located on the Western perimeter of the South China Sea. Running between the Eastern coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Western coast of Malaysia, it stretches 65-250 km wide and 800 km long...

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Carrier Strike Groups

By Alec Caruana
(February 2023)

Carrier Strike Groups

A carrier strike group (CSG) is a type of operational formation in the US Navy...the inclusion of several surface and sub-surface escort ships gives CSGs the resilience to maintain a preeminent military presence wherever they may be deployed...

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The Black Sea

By Jessica Martin
(January 2023)

The Black Sea

The Black Sea, referred to by some in Greece as the “Euxine Sea” (Greek for “hospitable”), is a nearly enclosed sea uniquely situated between the continents of Europe and Asia...

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Taiwan Strait

By Yilun Zhang
(December 2022)

Taiwan Strait

The Taiwan Strait, at a mere 100 nautical miles wide, situated between China’s mainland and the island of Taiwan, has increasingly become a significant roadblock for any potential progress in the U.S.-China relations...

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Antarctic Treaty System

By Amanda Jin
(November 2022)

Antarctic Treaty System

On December 1, 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was signed between the twelve countries that had been active in and around Antarctica...

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Green Shipping

By Zhangchen Wang
(October 2022)

Green Shipping

Maritime shipping is arguably the most important mode of global transportation. It was also the primary–or only–mode for hundreds of years...

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Northern Sea Route

By Jessica Martin
(September 2022)

Northern Sea Route

The Northern Sea Route (NSR, or Severoput in Russian) is a global shipping route about 2,200-2,900 miles long that lies entirely within Arctic waters...

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Maritime Shipping

By Yilun Zhang
(August 2022)

Maritime Shipping

Maritime shipping is the essential foundation of the global economy. United Nations statistics show that over 80% of the volume of international trade is through the sea...

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The Maldives

By Jessica Martin
(July 2022)

The Maldives

The Republic of Maldives is an archipelagic country located approximately 470 miles (750 kilometers) southwest of India in the Indian Ocean...

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ASEAN

By Alec Caruana
(June 2022)

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional inter- governmental organization currently made up of 10 member states across Southeast Asia...

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UNCLOS

By Sylvia Hu
(May 2022)

UNCLOS

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is an international treaty that establishes a legal framework for the sustainable development of the oceans and their natural resources...

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Blue Carbon and Marine Protected Areas

By Matt Geraci
(April 2022)

Blue Carbon and Marine Protected Areas

First emerging as an acknowledged field of study as part of a 2009 United Nations Environment Programme report...“blue carbon” has been recognized as a crucial, natural way to sequester carbon and conserve marine ecosystems in the long-term...

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F35 Lightning II

By Yilun Zhang
(March 2022)

F35 Lightning II

The Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, also known as the F-35 Lightning II, is a fifth generation strike fighter aircraft currently in use by the U.S. Air Force (USAF), Marine Corps (USMC), and Navy (USN)...

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Guam

By Jessica Martin
(February 2022)

Guam

Guam, a 210 square mile island located in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific Ocean, is the southernmost of the Mariana Islands and the largest island in Micronesia...

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