Europe, which was built on a limited domain – that of coal and steel – could take a new step based on the sea, says economist Jean-Claude Le Goff in an op-ed for Le Monde.
The current geopolitical map of the world is the result of European navigation from the 15th century onwards. After the division of the New World between Portugal and Spain, the Netherlands, followed by England and France, built empires that dominated the world. In the 19th century, the arrival of 56 million European immigrants in America and Oceania created « new Europes. » The Western model thus imposed itself on the entire world.
This outcome was achieved due to the erasure of China. Between 1405 and 1433, China sent armadas of 27,000 sailors on fleets of hundreds of ships as far as the shores of Kenya, but these costly expeditions were criticized by Confucianists at the court of the new emperor. As a result, the fleets were destroyed, and the construction of a ship with more than two masts became punishable by death. The oceans were then fully opened to ships from Europe, which became, for several centuries, the center of the world.
In the 21st century, when China claims its position as a great power, its maritime ambitions come to the forefront. It then clashes with the United States, which became a great power at the end of the 19th century, and India, a country long not focused on the sea but which is now developing its fleets and military bases.
Move fast or disappear
The oceans are at the center of global trade: by volume, maritime transport represents 90% of merchandise exchanges, and the major straits are often under conflicting surveillance by states. Oceans are also at the heart of our future due to their biodiversity, fishery resources, and aquaculture, as well as the wealth of the seabed. Additionally, the oceans host the approximately 500 undersea cables through which 98% of global internet traffic flows.
Source: Le Monde
