The past, present and future of maritime trade warfare

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SBLT Theo Squires, RAN*

This article was first published in the Australian Naval Review, 2019, Issue 2, in December 2019. 

Commerce raiding, also known as guerre de course or maritime trade warfare, has been a feature of conflict since ancient times. Open sea lines of communication (SLOC) are vital to the prosperity and security of coastal nations, as identified in Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper.[i] 63 per cent of Australia’s imports and exports by value are transported by sea, with the majority of these transiting strategic chokepoints in the South China Sea, Strait of Malacca, Indonesian Archipelago and Strait of Hormuz.[ii] However, although naval strategy references ‘sea denial’, current thought dismisses the re-emergence of commerce raiding. Analysts suggest that the highly globalised economy, development of land transport routes and small size of modern navies compared to the vast fleets of the last world war make a return to commerce raiding highly unlikely.

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