The International Institute for Strategic Studies 31d ago

Reflecting on the lessons of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz beyond the Middle East, Nick Childs, Senior Fellow for Naval Forces and Maritime Security, explains that maritime security is now about more than just protecting trade routes and shipping, it’s about the maritime economy more generally, including undersea cables and pipelines, and critical undersea infrastructure. These are common areas of vulnerability across all of the strategic regions, from the Euro-Atlantic, to the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific. As navies contend with new, complex asymmetric threats, as well as seeking to protect this infrastructure, further investment in hard-power capabilities will be required, as well as new frameworks for collaboration. IISS Shangri-La Dialogue   29–31 May 2026 #IISS_SLD26 go.iiss.org/SLD26