Introduction

Throughout humankind's history of ocean use, economic and military functions have been paramount. The seas have functioned to separate and to join, depending on the time and circumstance of peoples. Whether for sustenance, for transportation, for communication, or for protection, use of the oceans has usually involved political interrelationships—good and bad—among peoples. This situation has been especially evident in recent decades, and it continues today. Indeed, one can neither study nor fully understand contemporary marine affairs without taking into account the politics of the oceans locally, nationally, and internationally.