Sea power is a concept developped by the naval strategist A.T Mahan at the end of the XIXth century and has served as guidelines for the expansion of the US Navy from a coastal force to the 1st rank upon the seas. The concept mostly repose on the protection of civil and merchant trafic as the first goal of a State that wants to become a world power. 90% of the world exchanges passing through sea shipping, this is indeed more true today.
“The first and most obvious light in which the sea presents itself from the political and social point of view is that of a great highway; or better, perhaps, of a wide common, over which men may pass in all directions, but on which some well-worn paths show that controlling reasons have led them to choose certain lines of travel rather than others. These lines of travel are called trade routes; and the reasons which have determined them are to be sought in the history of the world.
(…)
Under modern conditions, however, home trade is but a part of the business of a country bordering on the sea. Foreign necessaries or luxuries must be brought to its ports, either in its own or in foreign ships, which will return, bearing in exchange the products of the country, whether they be the fruits of the earth or the works of men’s hands and it is the wish of every nation that this shipping business should be done by its own vessels. The ships that thus sail to and fro must have secure ports to which to return, and must, as far as possible, be followed by the protection of their country throughout the voyage.”
Alfred Thayer Mahan, Rear Admiral USN, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History 1660-1783
Then our commitment to world security first started with maritime security because that’s where everything begins. Our strategic goal to offer the best service to our partners and contributing to the world security can not be dissociated from our expertise coming from the ships and ports security.