A/Prof. Adam Lockyer1, Dr Nell Bennett1
1Macquarie University, Australia
Biography:
Nell Bennett is a researcher who specialises in maritime and naval affairs, law and international security. She has a Master of Research and a Doctor of Philosophy from Macquarie University and is a barrister with experience in criminal and appellate law. Dr. Bennett is the editor for the Sea Power Centre – Australia and a member of the Institute of Professional Editors. She was also a 2024 Blue Security Fellow at La Trobe Asia. Her latest book, Euskadi ta Askatasuna: Terrorist dynamics and the fight to survive, is published by Oxford University Press.
Abstract:
Presence is closely associated with sea power. The official doctrines of the world’s navies are littered with references to “presence”. Similarly, policymakers and national leaders assume that presence is a major reason why states build and sustain navies. The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently justified the purchase of new frigates so to increase Canada’s “presence” in the Indo-Pacific. The presence of one’s own warships in forward waters is expected to contribute towards achieving a wide array of strategic outcomes, including to signal interests, reassure friends and allies, deter potential threats, or to intimidate and coerce opponents.
This paper argues that presence operations are open to misinterpretation. For example, the deploying nation may consider an operation to be routine, nonthreatening and intended to enhance regional stability. At times, however, the target of the operation may perceive the deployment as intimidation, coercion and as a danger to regional peace and stability. This paper unpicks when and why miscommunication in presence operations occurs. Based on an analysis of presence operations in the South China Sea between 2007 and 2024, the paper identifies psychological processes that result in different viewers perceiving the same warship in different ways and extracting different messages as a result. These insights deepen scholarly understanding of the political use of sea power and will improve the effectiveness of naval presence operations in maintaining international peace and stability.