Sean Andrews

Senior Research Fellow SST-CCW University of Oxford I Founder Australian Maritime Forum I Indo-Pacific I Maritime I Veteran

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

New X account, nothing pinned. Here is my first effort from 2024 - it's as much about fish as Moby Dick is about a Whale. Available @routledgebooks - now in paperback.
New effort - 'The Coming Maritime Test', 2027 - which looks at the oceans as a global operating system.

[National Maritime Foundation (India) @nmfindia]

🌊 Announcing #IPRD2026, the Indian Navy's flagship international maritime conference, taking place 03–05 November 2026 at the Manekshaw Centre, New Delhi.

This year's theme: "Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific."

The Indian Navy conducts IPRD-2026 with the National Maritime Foundation (NMF) as its knowledge partner. As the principal manifestation of the Indian Navy's annual strategic outreach, the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) brings together leading scientists, technologists, academics, strategists and policymakers from across the world to advance one or more of the seven maritime lines of thrust under the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) — the first-order articulation of India's maritime policy, MAHASAGAR (Mutual And Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions).

Over three days, IPRD-2026 will convene five thematic sessions addressing:

-Oceanographic Science and Climate Resilience
-Transformative Maritime Technologies and Dual-Use Implications
-Collaborative Approaches to Ocean Governance and Maritime Resilience
-Maritime Situational Awareness and Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure
-Academic Networks, Research, and Human Capital Development

📍 Manekshaw Centre | 3–5 November 2026

👉 Don't miss the Indo-Pacific's biggest conversation on science, technology and academic cooperation — register now! Link in BIO!

@CENJOWS @OfficialCLAWSIN @CAPS_INDIA @USIofIndia @NITIAayog @JindalGlobalUNI @seaandcoast1 @teriin @ShivNadarUniv @allcargogati @KautilyaSPP @TheGlobalOrder @gnluofficial @GMU_GANDHINAGAR @thegimac @KASonline

#IPRD2026 #IndoPacificRegionalDialogue #IndianNavy #IndoPacific #MAHASAGAR #IPOI #MaritimeSecurity #OceanScience #NationalMaritimeFoundation

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

Looking forward to #IPRD26 in New Delhi - although I need a better photo....@OxfordCCW

[National Maritime Foundation (India) @nmfindia]

You can't see it. But it powers your world. 🌐
Cables, ports and pipelines keep life running.

At #IPRD2026, Professional Session 2: Maritime Situational Awareness and Protection of Critical Maritime Infrastructure asks how we keep them safe. 👇
🎙️ VAdm Tarun Sobti (Retd), Former Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (Moderator).

🔹 Prof Jeffrey Payne, Associate Professor, NESA Center for Strategic Studies, National Defense University, Washington DC.
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🔹 Mr Raj Mohabeer, Officer in Charge, General Secretariat, Indian Ocean Commission @commission_coi.

🔹 Capt (Dr) Sean Andrews, RAN (Retd), Senior Research Fellow, The Changing Character of War Centre, Oxford University.

🔹 VAdm Dario Giacomin, ITN (Retd), Senior Vice President (Underwater), Fincantieri, Rome.

Curious about maritime security and the seabed? This is your room. 🌊

📍 Manekshaw Centre | Day 1, 3 November 2026

Register now👉 https://t.co/oJlLdXmXqJ

#IPRD2026 #IndoPacific #IndianNavy #MaritimeSecurity #MaritimeDomainAwareness #UnderseaInfrastructure #NationalMaritimeFoundation

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

@alessionaval Alessio to be fair - western politics/ UN has been on a rather curious path. Remember Putin called himself the protector of traditional family values in 2017 - no one challenged this - the west had tied itself (through the UN) to many curious causes. Back to basics...?

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

@mercoglianos Italian or French???

[Collin Koh 🇸🇬🇺🇦 @CollinSLKoh]

Beijing routinely pedals this warped narrative: war is abnormal (and bad of course), coercion is normal and so you either have to accept it or fight.

This is a dangerous narrative that everyone should reject. There's no need to fight or resort to coercion.

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

At last - someone remembered the utility of gunnery!
We used to do it very well...
Northrop Grumman breaks out the big guns at AUSA https://t.co/k8SgwqcbcX

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

Can't help but think that words like innovative, comprehensive and resilience - even, deterrence are 'alibi' words - the linguistic cover for unresolved problems...@NSC_ANU @OxfordCCW @DSD_Kings

[War on the Rocks @WarOnTheRocks]

With high first-year attrition and hulls behind schedule, the big shipyards would rather pay for a welder someone else trained. So who trains the new ones? https://t.co/DdUnaMXm5D

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

This should come as no surprise - Strategy is inherently terraqueous: land and sea are not separate strategic domains, but parts of a single political and geographic whole. The New Red Sea Wars https://t.co/n7yLNr7TCn via @ForeignAffairs

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

History is a stubborn guide. Wars are rarely quick, military power is not self-validating, & battlefield success is not the same thing as strategic victory. The test is what force achieves politically. @OxfordCCW @RJohnsonCCW1
The Myth of Military Victory https://t.co/iAWD179dRu via @ForeignAffairs

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

One story amidst many - can't help but think the west needs a conference right now. Let's go Sydney - hosted icebreaker and a room the clear the air. Oh, to be a fly in that wall! @OxfordCCW
US removes B-1 bombers from UK base amid security concerns https://t.co/eH0z2hOBwJ

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

But a snapshot - there is a lot happening at sea right now with no fear of abating. The sea control playbook is open, being reassessed and renewed by all powers. @OxfordCCW @KCLSecurity
Navy ships deploy as Trump weighs renewed strikes on Iran
https://t.co/8Xw8x9DyLB

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

As a follow up - the IMO have paused a rescue plan, so 6000 sailors are stranded. Global cost of living increasing. That is why a victory is needed, otherwise global consumers will be held to ransom...@OxfordCCW
IMO update on the Strait of Hormuz:
https://t.co/xqCyeORc67

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

Missouri was reactivated and returned to service & saw service in Gulf War 1. Worth wargaming the right ships to lead breakouts from constrained waters? @johnkonrad @mercoglianos @OxfordCCW Why USS Missouri Unleashed 16-Inch Firepower! 🚢 #shorts https://t.co/Zvy8JVQXeJ via @YouTube

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

Missouri was reactivated and returned to service & saw service in Gulf War 1. Worth wargaming the right ships to lead breakouts from constrained waters? @johnkonrad @mercoglianos @OxfordCCW Why USS Missouri Unleashed 16-Inch Firepower! 🚢 #shorts https://t.co/Zvy8JVQXeJ via @YouTube

[Sal Mercogliano (WGOW Shipping) 🚢⚓🐪🚒🏴‍☠️ @mercoglianos]

In case you see this on social media, these are bulk carriers off Bangledesh and not tankers off the Persian Gulf.

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

@GrayConnolly If I recall most would not realise that the 'Inquisition' was not just a Spanish activity. This was Pope Gregory's papal Inquisition?

[John Ʌ Konrad V @johnkonrad]

Been saying this for years. Our shipyards have way more capacity than the Beltway bandits want you to know.

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

About time.

[Andrew Greene @AndrewBGreene]

A committee has approved publication of the first volume of the official history of the ADF’s role in Iraq and Afghanistan hours after The Nightly reported the book had been waiting three years for approval https://t.co/FvEOvIsVEz

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

Ain't this the truth.@OxfordCCW

[Sean Andrews @SeanandrewsAMF]

@alessionaval Ok, perhaps a neat ruse - argue that the law has a vanishing point - articulated by Lauterpacht. The broader strategy becomes pre-eminent. China’s new CG law are then determined better. UNCLOS is substantive, but improved with Chinese edits...