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' and secure key shipping routes. Given its geostrategic location and extensive maritime zones, the country requires a more coordinated strategic approach to maritime surveillance to enhance security and protect interests both within and beyond its Exclusive Economic Zone.

• South Africa's economy is highly dependent on seaborne trade, leading to its characterisation as an 'island economy' due to its reliance on the free passage of shipping for almost all imports and exports.
• The scale of South Africa's maritime domain awareness task is driven by its unique geostrategic position on a key global shipping route and the vast extent of its maritime zones.
• There is a critical need for South Africa to implement a more coordinated strategic approach to maritime surveillance to improve MDA and security in response to increasing maritime insecurity and a growing reliance on shipping.

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} }