As I have been saying for at least more than one decade, as far as the Portuguese Sea is concerned, it would be necessary for Portugal to approach this sector from two different perspectives:
a) Establish a national strategy to promote development based on maritime
resources;
b) Future research opportunities.
About the first element, several weaknesses are highlighted that seem to affect Portugal's endogenous capacity to launch a “National Maritime Strategy”:
a) Difficulties in securing a solid political agreement (“consensus”) concerning maritime activities. Since there is still a great deal of disagreement between actors with interests in Portugal;
b) The lack of military capacity, namely the Navy's resources, to guarantee and impose a national security and protection strategy (but in the meantime an €8M speedboat was purchased for the GNR, which was soon stranded in her first few voyages); the scarce availability of technological resources adapted and destined to promote research applied to “Atlantic Related” scientific areas;
c) The scarcity of technological and scientific resources related to the exploitation of maritime resources;
d) The absolute need to modernize and use the Port Structure of Portugal.
Regardless of the scenario described above, there are some “lines of action” that will allow Portugal to overcome these constraints, obstacles, and difficulties:
Here it will be vital to study NATO's participation in the Portuguese Sea Security and Security Strategy. The enormous size of the new portion of territory under portuguese jurisdiction imposes the need for a geopolitical and geostrategic agreement between our country and the military organization;
a) I have been saying and writing for years that building a railway line between Sines and Madrid is essential. The future challenges with constructing an eventual European gas pipeline from Sines impose measures that cannot suffer further delays. Otherwise, Portugal runs the risk of losing an essential element for its future national competitiveness: a network of modern ports;
b) Promote and develop partnerships involving European Union member states and national and foreign companies, to strengthen technological and scientific capacity. In this way, Portugal will be able to obtain competitive advantages based on a multisectoral approach to maritime resources;
c) Launching a solid and broad political agreement between the main actors appears to be essential for the validity of any national maritime strategy. Political dialogue seems as the most valid path in this critical issue.
Finally,the result suggested some exciting guidelines for future research:
a) The study of Portugal's new set of competitive advantages arising from more extensive, more diversified, and more robust maritime resources;
b)Analyze the impact of the enlargement of the Continental Shelf on economic sectors/business networks related to the Atlantic Ocean, such as Tourism and Leisure, Fisheries, Port Activity, and Maritime Transport;
c) Launch of a series of studies dedicated to the role of Portuguese seaports in the context of factors such as the crisis in Ukraine, a new European gas pipeline, and new railway lines connecting our coast and the markets of Western Europe;
d) Discuss what Portugal's future needs may be in terms of technological and scientific means and instruments to achieve a truly national and endogenous capacity to explore the ocean floor and take advantage of a new and extraordinary economic resource.
José Gois Chilão
19/09/22
