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https://theconversation.com/russia-and-the-west-are-entering-the-grey-zone-of-warfare-and-the-oceans-are-a-key-battleground-244668>
"The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has claimed that Russia now has the
right to target assets of nations that supply Ukraine with tactical missiles,
after the US authorised the use of such weapons against targets deep into
Russian territory.
So far Putin’s warning feel like a rhetorical escalation, which might not yet
result in a direct military confrontation. But short of a “real” war, Moscow
can destabilize western economies and societies with operations in what is
called the “grey zone”.
The grey zone is not defined geographically. It is a functional space between
war and peace, where jurisdictions are blurred, contested or left unclear and
where responsibilities and accountability are vague and deniable. It’s where
hybrid warfare and below-the-threshold operations flourish, because it is more
difficult to tell whether an attack has occured and who might be responsible.
Hybrid warfare comes in myriad different forms. It can be disinformation
campaigns designed to create uncertainty or even panic in a population. Or
cyberattacks against transport infrastructure intended to seriously disrupt a
competitor or adversary.
The maritime domain is often an important theatre for this kind of warfare. The
sea is vast and uninhabitable (and in part unmapped) which makes it hard to
survey, monitor and control.
Contested and overlapping jurisdictions – for example in the Arctic or South
China Sea – make it hard to clearly identify responsibilities. “Fish cross
borders”, as do those who fish, and coastguards.
The same is true of people smugglers, drug traffickers and spy ships. What’s
more, a multitude of actors are involved in the governance of complex maritime
supply chains, from naval forces to shipping companies, from maritime insurers
to communication cable operators.
This complexity is particularly salient in the shipping sector. Ships can fly
the flag of one country and at the same time be owned and insured by a company
from another country. They can have a multinational crew, and transport a cargo
whose origin is hardly traceable to any specific state.
So the maritime domain is a perfect playground for a country whose objective is
to undermine the prosperity, cohesion or security of an adversary without
risking a direct confrontation."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
