‘Without Maritime Security, There Can Be No Global Security’, Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Calling on Greater Respect for International Law
The head of the United Nations told the Security Council today that the “basic condition” for preserving maritime security is that all States respect international law, following which speakers in a day-long debate urged cooperation to address common challenges in this domain.
“Without maritime security, there can be no global security,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Yet, the world’s oceans are increasingly under strain from threats both traditional and emerging — challenges around contested boundaries, depletion of maritime resources, escalating geopolitical tensions — and “no region is spared”, he stressed. “And the problem is getting worse,” he added, spotlighting Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, trafficking in the Gulf of Aden and the Mediterranean Sea and myriad crime in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Facing these and other threats, the world’s maritime routes and the people depending on them are sending a clear ‘SOS’,” he said, urging action in “three key areas” — respecting international law, addressing the root causes of maritime insecurity and creating “partnerships at all levels”. Pointing out that the upcoming 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, will “provide an important moment for the countries of the world to take action”, he underscored: “As threats to maritime security are becoming more complex and interconnected, enhanced coordination and stronger maritime governance are essential.”
Next, Melina N. Travlos, President of the Union of Greek Shipowners and Chair of the Board of the Neptune Group of Companies, said that Greek shipping accounts for over 20 per cent of the global — and 61 per cent of the European Union’s — fleet. She also noted that more than 12 billion tons of goods are transported around the world each year. “In the COVID-19 pandemic, when all other sectors shut down, we kept supply chains alive, delivering the medicines and goods that people needed,” she emphasized. And in humanitarian crises such as mass migration, vessels regularly participate in rescue operations.
However, she warned that shipping is increasingly being weaponized. “Piracy is evolving — not retreating,” she stated. In 2024, 116 incidents were reported — representing a 35 per cent increase from 2023 — and organized crime, as well as trafficking in drugs and persons, are growing threats alongside cyberwarfare. Stressing that a single cyberattack can disrupt vessel operations or trigger environmental disasters, she called for a global commitment to keep maritime security a top priority and a standing policy issue in the United Nations. “We must shift from reaction to prevention, from crisis response to crisis readiness,” she urged.
Yet, Christian Bueger, Professor at the University of Copenhagen and Research Fellow at the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), pointed out that the Council has been confronting these issues in an ad-hoc manner. “There are no sustained efforts to address maritime security systematically,” he said, and many emerging issues lack adequate attention as a result. For example, “blue crimes” — such as piracy and smuggling — persist, undermining regional stability. “The resurgence of piracy off the coast of Somalia — previously thought to be contained — serves as an important reminder that our efforts in combatting crimes at sea must be sustainable,” he said.
Also requiring sustained, systematic attention, he stressed, are the proliferation of autonomous weapons systems, naval mines, maritime cybersecurity threats, substandard shipping linked to sanctions evasion and the need to protect critical maritime infrastructure. And despite the need for evidence-based decision-making, global data on evolving maritime security threats is lacking. Adding that “there is no global strategy and no coordination instrument in place”, he called on the Council to “chart a course” towards systematic, evidence-based and coordinated maritime-security governance, observing: “As the waters that connect us face growing threats, our response must be equally connected.”
As the floor opened, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece, Council President for May, spoke in his national capacity to urge enhanced “understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain”. Additionally, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea must be respected, and he also called on the international community to counter marine pollution and the environmental risks posed by illegal dumping, discharges and anthropogenic emissions. “Maritime security is directly and closely related to the core values of the free world,” he added.
That security, said Carlos Arturo Hoyos, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama, “must be based on fundamental principles that aim to protect freedom of navigation, human life at sea, the marine environment and the means of harmonious development of all nations”. For its part, Panama has worked to convert its eponymous Canal into a competitive and secure passage for international global shipping that currently serves 188 global routes. “Pro mundi beneficio — for the benefit of the world — that’s Panama’s motto; that’s what the Canal is all about for us,” he emphasized.
“Oceans must be preserved as arenas for cooperation and shared prosperity, not as theatres of strategic rivalry,” urged Pakistan’s representative, while detailing a “troubling pattern of behaviour by one major country” in Pakistan’s “immediate neighbourhood”. Confronting maritime challenges, he underscored, requires “coordinated action firmly anchored in international law”, and the Law of the Sea Convention serves as the “cornerstone of the international maritime legal order”. Many speakers also underlined the primacy of that instrument, including Guyana’s representative, who called on States to uphold that “primary international framework for maritime governance”.
Slovenia’s representative concurred, noting that the Convention provides the “main legal framework” for cooperation in this area. He also underlined his country’s commitment in this domain, including through its participation in the European Union’s three naval operations — Irini, Atalanta and Aspides. “We firmly believe that regional arrangements and activities can play an important role in the wider framework of international security engagements,” he said, also stressing that maritime security “must address climate resilience”.
Both of those points were echoed by the representative of Sierra Leone, who spotlighted the African Union’s Lomé Charter as a regional framework for countering maritime crime. He also noted collaboration between West African States to counter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that threatens livelihoods in coastal communities across the region. Adding that “climate change — more than any other factor — has heightened maritime insecurity through rising sea levels”, he urged integrated, anticipatory responses rooted in risk mitigation and resilience-building.
Along those lines, the representative of Algeria called on the international community to support developing countries’ efforts to control their maritime security, including through technology transfer. Somalia’s representative, for his part, pointed out: “Poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunity often drive individuals towards criminal activities at sea.” A holistic approach is therefore needed to address these root causes, which must also acknowledge the disproportionate impact of maritime crimes on vulnerable coastal communities and developing nations.
“We need to look at maritime security in a holistic way,” concurred Nicolai Ruge, Special Envoy for Maritime Security of Denmark, adding that coastal States’ capacity to monitor and respond to maritime threats must be enhanced. Challenges, he said, are often linked to onshore instability in coastal States — including poverty, law-enforcement challenges and climate change. Adding that protecting critical maritime infrastructure is vital to the functioning of the world’s interconnected societies, he stressed: “Attacks on such infrastructure are deplorable and must be prevented.”
On that, the representative of the United Kingdom underlined the need to support Ukraine’s defence of its sovereign waters and to protect Red Sea navigation routes from Houthi attacks. France’s representative, too, underscored that the Houthis — supported by Iran — must stop their destabilizing activities, as did the representative of the United States, who additionally condemned “China’s dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea”. She urged the international community to “look at China’s actions — rather than its empty claims — when judging its contributions to international cooperation”.
Meanwhile, China’s representative, noting that the United States sent military vessels to the South China Sea to “flex its muscles and stir up confrontation”, said that “the United States itself is the biggest threat to the peace and security of the South China Sea”. Underscoring that “specific disputes involving maritime rights and interests should be resolved peacefully through friendly consultations between parties directly involved”, he added that the Council “is not an appropriate place to discuss the South China Sea issue”.
Similarly, the representative of the Russian Federation — while acknowledging the importance of maritime-security issues — said that the “majority” of the problems discussed today “are not part of the Security Council’s remit”. Rather, he drew attention to Western States’ use of unilateral coercive measures. Underscoring that the use of such measures contravenes international law, he said that Western countries’ attempts to justify their illegal actions at sea by referring to such measures “is at odds with a maxim that dates back to the times of Roman law — no party can take undue advantage of its own wrongdoing”.
For his part, the representative of the Republic of Korea expressed concern over illicit maritime activities by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which continue to fund its unlawful weapons programmes. Observing that the enforcement of maritime sanctions is often undermined by jurisdictional gaps, limited capacity and lack of political will, he added that the disbandment of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 1718 (2006) Panel of Experts by a permanent Council member has further weakened monitoring and compliance in this regard.
Today’s debate also featured participation by the wider UN membership, with many States taking the floor to underline the importance of cooperation to global maritime security. Among them was the representative of Mexico, who urged the international community to act collectively. “We agree that the maintenance of maritime security is fundamental in order to guarantee the stability of global supply chains and global economic development; however, we underscore that any action undertaken in this regard must fully respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the wishes of coastal States,” he said.
On that, however, Alexis Vafeades, Minister for Transport, Communications and Works of Cyprus, pointed to “deliberate violations of the sovereign rights of States through the conduct of illegal drillings and unauthorized surveys in their maritime zones by third countries”. Also urging collective action, he called for comprehensive national strategies to counter maritime crimes; strengthened cooperation through joint naval exercises, maritime patrols and regional task forces; investment in capacity-building in the maritime domain; and exploration into how emerging technologies can bolster maritime security.
Some speakers pointed to successes, including the representative of Malta, who reported that her country — along with Antigua and Barbuda — has partnered to establish the Global Centre for Maritime Sanctions Monitoring. Located in Valletta and planning to begin operations in October, the Centre will provide capacity-building to flag registries and will monitor both the implementation of Council sanctions and crimes that occur at sea. Spain’s representative stated: “We support strengthening the controls on vessels that are infringing IMO [International Maritime Organization] rules.”
The representative of Italy also detailed positive developments, noting that the implementation of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, together with the support of the international community and the regular presence of naval units from several European Union countries — including Italy — have played a crucial role in reducing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea. Thailand’s representative, for his part, detailed his country’s substantive cooperation with other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to address shared maritime-security threats.
Also reporting on ASEAN efforts, the representative of Singapore pointed to its efforts to fortify the regional submarine cable network. He also observed that “geostrategic contestation has increasingly led to incidents at sea between competing naval forces”. Providing an example was the representative of the Philippines, who detailed “infringement on our lawful rights and entitlements under international law and aggression against our vessels and personnel”. She underscored: “The growing number of incidents in the South China Sea must be addressed urgently.”
Speaking from another area of concern — and as the custodian of the Suez Canal — the representative of Egypt reported that his country lost $7 billion in revenue due to decreased navigation through the Red Sea. Despite his country’s determination to sustain the Canal’s pivotal role in global trade, he underscored that maritime security has become inseparable from regional crises, geopolitical tensions and unresolved conflicts. Today’s debate, he added, “is a reminder that oceans and sea lanes that bind our world together are also susceptible to divisions that afflict us on land”.