HASSAM AHMED SIDDIQI
THE phenomenon of globalization has shed light on the significance of mari time economy in the concept of state’s might.Conventionally,the concept ofmaritime consisted of development of military strategies and consolidation of Navy forces to project maritime sovereignty of states, however the concept of maritime domain has expanded in terms ofits diversified economic ventures,tourism and shipping. In addition, strategic choke points, energy reserves and dominance of regional and global forces in the closest sea region furtherstheimportance of a state globally. It is an acknowledged fact that Pakistan has a significant geo-strategic location which has more maritime area than land available for use. The fact was recognized during the first few decades as the country has 1005 Km long coastline ranking 74th in the list of 142 coastal states while Gadani ship breaking yard was developed as well. However, country’s maritime development continued to decline later while on the other hand, India and Bangladesh continued to develop their maritime sector. Both these states heavily invested in development of coastal tourism, aqua culture industry in addition to optimal utilization of their ports for their private sector. Ports and Shipping was dealt as a subject ofMinistry of Communications, however during the Musharraf Government Ministry of Ports and Shipping emerged as anindependent entity of Government of Pakistan. Significance of maritime affairs tremendously increased after the inauguration of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Due to furthered significance of maritime issues, Federal Ministry of Ports and Shipping was renamed and restructuredin October 2017 asMinistry ofMaritime Affairs. Pakistan is one of the most important coastal states ofthe IndianOcean carryingmore than 90% of its trade through sea via its ports of Karachi, Gwadar and Qasim. Over 15 million barrels of crude oil is shipped through Pakistani coasts daily fromtheGulf Statesthrough the Persian Gulf. The country also provides shortest transit sea route to Afghanistan and China. Its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) was extended from 100 nautical miles to 200 nautical miles in 1976 by Maritime ZonesAct (MZA). In May 2015, Pakistan extended its Continental Shelf to 350 nautical miles under the ambit of UN Commission for Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS). However, MZA is losing its significance with each passing year asthe country has failed to modify the Act intermittently. It is beyond doubtthat maritime sectoris a significant component of national economic andmilitary power andthereis an unavoidablelinkagein-between. However, Government of Pakistan has failed to comply with the updated requirements of maritime sector.While the country is pursuing development on the second phase of CPEC projects, efficient and rationalized structure of maritime sector is a must to meet the required demands in the upcoming decades. The global share of various components of maritime sector of Pakistan is not very significant. The only exception is its ship scrapping industry which is approximately 18% of the total world ship breaking industry.According to the information at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in 2016, share of Pakistan in global fleet ownership is just 0.04%. With an immense potential and resources, maritime sector’s performance in contributiontothe national economy remains substantially poor which is seriously disappointing as this sector can tremendously contribute to national exchequer keeping in view its diverse domain. Pakistan needs to redefine its priorities in terms of its maritime domain. A comprehensive blue-growth strategy that is in alignment with its national objectives will pave the way in growth of various sectors. This includes equipping ports withthemoderninfrastructure, shipping and ship-building industry, ship recycling, maritime tourism which has a huge potential with respect to country’s coast lines anditstourism potential, Fisheries and sea-food industry and off-shore marine resource exploration. Moreover, focus on energy and food security, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health, coastal environment, development and strategies also need to be given to keep the sector sustainable for a long time. If Pakistan focuses on its maritime economy keeping in view the expansion of above mentioned diversified sectors, maritime sector can contribute tremendously in national exchequer while at the same time boost the country’s national image as well. However, no compromise onmaritime security should be made as the country cannot afford to have an outdated maritime technology with India as its neighbour. —TheAuthor works at Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).
