In this episode of Picking Up Where We Left Off the conversation revisits the evolving maritime security challenges facing Southeast Asia—a region central to global trade and geopolitical stability. Building on insights from a 2024 Hollings Center dialogue in Kuala Lumpur, the episode explores how traditional threats such as smuggling, human trafficking, and illegal fishing are increasingly intertwined with emerging risks, including “dark shipping,” sanctioned oil transfers, and the growing vulnerability of undersea infrastructure. The discussion underscores how Southeast Asia’s heavy reliance on secure sea lanes makes disruptions at sea not only a regional concern, but one with direct implications for international commerce, energy flows, and digital connectivity worldwide.
Featuring perspectives from Gilang Kembara of Nanyang Technological University and Elina Noor of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the episode highlights the often-overlooked risks to submarine cables that carry the vast majority of global internet traffic, as well as the safety, environmental, and accountability gaps created by illicit maritime practices. The guests emphasize that addressing these challenges requires a coordinated, multi-stakeholder response—one that brings together governments, regional bodies such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, and private-sector and cybersecurity actors. Rather than offering simple solutions, the episode makes clear that safeguarding Southeast Asia’s maritime domain will demand sustained cooperation and a whole-of-society approach to managing the region’s increasingly complex maritime risks.
