South Africa’s maritime domain awareness: a capability baseline assessment

South Africa is developing a sovereign maritime domain awareness (MDA) architecture to protect its 'island economy,' which depends on seaborne trade. The country seeks a more coordinated strategic approach to maritime surveillance to manage its extensive maritime zones and address increasing insecurity.

• South Africa is characterized as an 'island economy' because it relies on seaborne imports and exports for nearly all of its trade, making the safe and free passage of shipping critical to its security and economy.
• South Africa is currently developing a sovereign and sophisticated MDA architecture. There is a recognized need for a more coordinated strategic approach to maritime surveillance to improve security and optimize the use of existing capabilities, especially given the large scale of its maritime zones and increasing maritime insecurity.

APA

Walker, T., & Reva, D. (n.d.). South Africa’s maritime domain awareness: a capability baseline assessment. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/south-africas-maritime-domain-awareness-a-capability-baseline-assessment

Chicago

Walker, Timothy, and Denys Reva. South Africa’s maritime domain awareness: a capability baseline assessment. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/south-africas-maritime-domain-awareness-a-capability-baseline-assessment.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Walker |first1=Timothy |last2=Reva |first2=Denys |title=South Africa’s maritime domain awareness: a capability baseline assessment |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/south-africas-maritime-domain-awareness-a-capability-baseline-assessment |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{walkerndsouth, author = {Walker, Timothy and Reva, Denys}, title = {{South Africa’s maritime domain awareness: a capability baseline assessment}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/books-and-other-publications/south-africas-maritime-domain-awareness-a-capability-baseline-assessment}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }