Governing the Seas

Maritime issues, once low-profile, are increasingly in the spotlight as developments in the Black Sea and pandemic-related shipping bottlenecks affect trade and consumers worldwide. More than 80 percent of global trade occurs by sea, and 90 percent of the world's data flows through undersea cables. As global sea trade has exploded in recent decades, international, regional and national institutions have played important collaborative roles in regulating the shipping industry and advancing maritime security. But many experts say those international regimes are threatened by rising nationalism, increasing geopolitical tensions and a growing naval arms race. For example, China continues to clash with its neighbors and the United States over jurisdictional disputes concerning islands and sea lanes in the South China Sea. In addition, while the high seas were once considered humanity's common heritage, that ideal is increasingly being questioned or ignored, as companies and nations position themselves to exploit lucrative minerals on the oceans' seabed.