Brazil faces the South Atlantic with its long coast, spanning nearly 8,000km, and has degrees of jurisdiction over a maritime area of over 4 million square kilometres, an area as large as half of the country’s continental territory. 95% of Brazil’s trade comes by sea, as well as a great amount of its oil and natural gas. This area also creates interest due to the possibilities regarding mineral resources and biodiversity. All of these issues prompted Brazilians to coin the term Blue Amazon to encompass this expanse of the South Atlantic which directly borders the length of Brazil.
On an international scale, the South Atlantic itself has not yet caused major disputes, as opposed to the Pacific and Indian Oceans with regard to economic goods, security and high level politics between great powers. Although, in our increasingly smaller world, many relevant actors have pronounced their interest in this part of the globe. They stand either as individual states, such as the UK, USA, China and the states of the European Union, or as multi-state organisations, such as the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone, created in 1986 and reinforced in 2007.
This conference aims to address, in a multidisciplinary way, the actors involved with security in the South Atlantic, their related interests and the strategies being applied in search of those interests.
Programme:
14 November
Canning House - click for directions
14/15 Belgrave Square
London, SW1X 8PS
18:30-20:00 - Opening Keynote: Brazilian Strategy for the South Atlantic - the Concept of Blue Amazon
Keynote Speaker:
Rear Admiral Flávio Augusto Viana Rocha - Director, Navy Social Communications Centre, Brazilian Navy
Presentation: PDF
15 November
RUSI Whitehall - click for directions
61 Whitehall Street
London, SW1A 2ET
10:00-12:00 – Panel 1
Topics:
Latin American Naval Strategy and Policy in the South Atlantic: Collaboration or Confrontation?
Dr. Carlos Alfaro Zaforteza - King's College London
Presentation: PDF
Regional Challenges to the Maritime Security in the South Atlantic
Dr. André Panno Beirão - Postgraduate Programme in Maritime Studies, Naval War College, Brazil
Presentation: PDF
Chair: Dr. Any Freitas
12:00–12:30 Lunch
12:30-14:30 Panel 2
Topics:
Russia, China and the Souther Oceans - Ambition and Her Politics
Peter Roberts - Senior Research Fellow, Sea Power & Maritime Studies, RUSI
The Atlantic in the 21st Century: Visions from the Southern Seas
Prof. William de Sousa Moreira – Post Graduate Programme in Maritime Studies, Naval War College, Brazil
Presentation: PDF
Chair: Dr. Chris Kinsey
14:30-15:00 - Coffee break
15:00-17:00 – Panel 3
Topics:
UK Options in the South Atlantic
Dr. Martin Robson - Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter
Presentation: PDF
The EU Maritime Strategy and the South Atlantic: What Is in There for Brazil
Dr. Any Freitas - Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), King’s Brazil Institute. Team Leader, Critical Maritime Routes Monitoring, Support and Evaluation Mechanism (CRIMSON) Project
Chair: Dr. Vinicius Mariano de Carvalho
16 November
King's College London - click for directions
Pyramid Room, 4th floor of King's Building
Strand, London
WC2R 2LS
10:00-11:00 - Lecture: The Falkland Islands and South Atlantic Security Co-operation: A Stone in the Shoe?
Alan Charlton - Retired British Diplomat and former Ambassador to Brazil (2008-2013)
Presentation: PDF
11:00-13:00 - PhD Symposium & Final Remarks
Topics:
Anglo-Brazilian Naval Relations, 1922-1977
Ludolf Waldmann Jr. - King's College London/Federal University of São Carlos
Presentation: PDF
Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: a Threat to Goal 14 of the SDG
Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood - PhD candidate, African Leadership Centre, King's College London
Presentation: PDF
Brazilian Naval Strategic Thinking Evolution and Concepts of Power
José Cláudio Oliveira Macedo - PhD candidate, King's Brazil Institute
