ABSTRACT
Introduction The United States holds a long-standing national interest in the assured safety of navigation in Southeast Asia. For centuries the region’s straits and seas have carried maritime traffic essential to global commerce. They continue in that role today, conveying the bulk of the world’s cargo. However, geography also dictates that traffic in these waters is particularly vulnerable to disruptions caused by state actors, non-state actors and the forces of nature. Of particular concern has been the sustained threat to vessels posed by maritime pirates and sea robbers operating in Southeast Asian sea-lanes.2 As the United States is a maritime nation dependent on trade and committed to free commerce, the U.S. Navy has been involved in assuring safe transits of Southeast Asian sea-lanes for nearly two centuries, and the U.S. government maintains significant maritime security cooperation programs with Southeast Asian states.
