By David Brewster*
The explosion and fire on board a supertanker off Sri Lanka this month, following closely on last month’s disastrous oil spill in Mauritius, serve as a reminder that environmental security threats are front and centre of security concerns among many Indian Ocean states. This issue will become only more important with the environmental threats caused by climate change. But there is currently no effective mechanism for regional cooperation on environmental security problems. Just as it has done in the Pacific, Australia should work with like-minded states to establish collaborative mechanisms in the Indian Ocean.
