The Indian Ocean Rim (IOR), with nearly half the world’s population by 2050, in geo-political terms, is moving away from being identified as the ‘Ocean of the South’ to the ‘Ocean of the Center’ and the ‘Ocean of the Future’ with a core position in terms of global security, data collection and information transfer that will increasingly shape the planet in the twenty-first Century. Given such interdependencies, there is clearly a need for intelligence acquisition, data analysis and the provision of relevant and timely information to help to facilitate coherent, clear-eyed decision-making. It can be argued that a nation without intelligence is like an individual without eyes and ears – intelligence which no single country can gather, process or disseminate on its own. For instance, in 2017, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) had declared the need to upgrade intelligence-sharing capabilities and explore a regional surveillance network of existing member state institutions that included sharing of data and exchange of information on maritime transportation systems. Similarly, a range of regional leaders, such as India’s former Vice President Hamid Ansari, have emphasized the importance of gathering intelligence and closer defence integration alongside the task of creating pragmatic regional networks that can link maritime operations and facilitate co-ordination among regional actors including coastguards, police, customs and other intelligence officials. The success of anti-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa and Gulf of Aden is perhaps the best example of a unified platform for coordination and information sharing across multiple sectors to address maritime threats. Overall, this type of information exchange impetus is about trying to avoid strategic surprises, support risk mitigation strategies and ensure that intelligence analysis, situational awareness and response capability will remain ahead of threats to national security. The nature of issues like climate change, illegal fishing, terrorism, transnational crime, drug smuggling, cyber-sabotage and arms trafficking all continue to pose serious security threats to littoral states regardless of size and stature. As such, a drive for greater all-source intelligence information ‘fusion’ will demand both people and systems to increase communication and coordination across parallel issues, alter bureaucratic relationships and adapt to technology trends. Everything is about adding insights for decision-making, setting priorities and protocols and supporting specific operations in competitive conditions. Critically, it will be argued that a wide range of non-traditional security issues do provide genuine openings to develop a level of trust, confidence and habits of cooperation that is required to advance security in the Indo-Pacific. Certainly, factors such as a lack of leadership and suspicion or rising geopolitical rivalries will present significant normative as well as political challenges that could inhibit effective bilateral and broader region-wide intelligence sharing arrangements. All nations will therefore need to carefully consider the effectiveness and limitations of current and proposed information sharing networks and associated political and institutional reforms in the region. Such revised arrangements might conceivably incorporate investments into more flexible network-based approaches that have low political barriers to entry and that can concentrate on issue-specific competencies and commonalties among states.

中文翻译：

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环印度洋情报共享政治

到 2050 年，环印度洋 (IOR) 在地缘政治方面将拥有世界近一半的人口，正在从被确定为“南方海洋”转向“中心海洋”和“海洋”。未来”在全球安全、数据收集和信息传输方面处于核心地位，这将越来越多地塑造 21 世纪的地球。鉴于这种相互依存关系，显然需要情报获取、数据分析和提供相关和及时的信息，以帮助促进连贯、清晰的决策。可以说，一个没有情报的国家就像一个没有眼睛和耳朵的人——没有任何一个国家可以自行收集、处理或传播情报。例如，在 2017 年，环印度洋协会 (IORA) 已宣布需要升级情报共享能力并探索现有成员国机构的区域监视网络，其中包括共享数据和交换海上运输系统信息。同样，印度前副总统哈米德·安萨里 (Hamid Ansari) 等一系列地区领导人强调了收集情报和加强国防整合的重要性，同时还强调了建立务实的地区网络的重要性，这些网络可以将海上行动联系起来并促进地区参与者之间的协调，包括海岸警卫队、警察、海关和其他情报官员。非洲之角和亚丁湾反海盗行动的成功或许是跨部门协调和信息共享以应对海上威胁的统一平台的最好例子。总体而言，这种信息交流推动力是为了避免战略意外，支持风险缓解战略，并确保情报分析、态势感知和响应能力始终领先于国家安全面临的威胁。气候变化、非法捕鱼、恐怖主义、跨国犯罪、毒品走私、网络破坏和武器贩运等问题的性质，无论大小和地位，都继续对沿海国家构成严重的安全威胁。因此，推动更大程度的全源情报信息“融合”将要求人员和系统加强跨并行问题的沟通和协调，改变官僚关系并适应技术趋势。一切都是为了增加决策洞察力、设定优先级和协议以及在竞争条件下支持特定操作。至关重要的是，广泛的非传统安全问题确实为培养促进印太地区安全所需的信任、信心和合作习惯提供了真正的机会。当然，缺乏领导力和猜疑或地缘政治竞争加剧等因素将带来重大的规范和政治挑战，可能会阻碍有效的双边和更广泛的区域范围情报共享安排。因此，所有国家都需要仔细考虑该地区当前和提议的信息共享网络以及相关政治和体制改革的有效性和局限性。可以想象，这种修订后的安排可能会将投资纳入更灵活的基于网络的方法中，这些方法具有较低的进入政治壁垒，并且可以专注于特定问题的能力和国家之间的共同点。因此，所有国家都需要仔细考虑该地区当前和提议的信息共享网络以及相关政治和体制改革的有效性和局限性。可以想象，这种修订后的安排可能会将投资纳入更灵活的基于网络的方法中，这些方法具有较低的进入政治壁垒，并且可以专注于特定问题的能力和国家之间的共同点。因此，所有国家都需要仔细考虑该地区当前和提议的信息共享网络以及相关政治和体制改革的有效性和局限性。可以想象，这种修订后的安排可能会将投资纳入更灵活的基于网络的方法中，这些方法具有较低的进入政治壁垒，并且可以专注于特定问题的能力和国家之间的共同点。