A Belt and Road Initiative e suas Implicações para a segurança marítima no Atlântico Sul

Abstract

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a global economic development strategy conceptualized by the Chinese government with multidimensional characteristics. The initiative has extensively pushed for cooperation in multiple fields with countries in every part of the world. The initiatives in relation to the maritime environment promoted by the BRI inevitably affect the security, development and defense of both the member as well as the non-member countries of he South Atlantic. ZOPACAS can be an important organisation to work on the measures and mechanisms to strengthen maritime security and increase naval cooperation, given the advances of BRI in the South Atlantic region. The study was undertaken using a qualitative approach, procedures and techniques related to exploratory research were utilized including extensive bibliographical research. This article attempts to identify challenges, risk areas and propose areas of cooperation in the South Atlantic, which may help mitigate these challenges in the sphere of maritime security. The key areas of cooperation between the navies of the ZOPACAS countries to overcome the risks arising out of BRI have also been proposed. The analysis highlights the need to strengthen ZOPACAS as a regional response tool to ensure maritime security in the South Atlantic. BRI and it’s increasing relevance to the region in multiple dimensions reinforces the need to analyze the initiative and its implications in greater detail and depth.