Exploiting Sea Control

The distinctions between the competitive and cooperative functions of navies raised in Chapter 6 become a little clearer when considering the wide range of activities that they conduct which directly affect events ashore. These activities can be roughly divided between ones that fit the modern, competitive paradigm of naval missions on the one hand and those that are better placed in the post-modern collaborative paradigm on the other. The distinctions between these alternative sets of missions are often only a matter of degree. Such is the flexibility of seapower that the enabling activities they require and even the naval equipment used may be the same. They can nevertheless be broken down as shown in Table 12.1 . Table 12.1 Operations from the Sea Operations from the Sea Modern/Competitive Post-modern/Collaborative Amphibious operations Expeditionary Operations Operational manoeuvre from the Sea Maritime Capacity Building Other forms of Sea-based land attack Humanitarian and Disaster Response Operations Coastal Defence