The Challenges for a Maritime Condition in the 21st Century

Convinced that the sea is crucial for the prosperity and security of Chile, AthenaLab decided to participate as a sponsor in Exponaval 2022 by organizing discussion panels on the challenges of being a maritime power in the 21st century.

For this reason, we invited the former Chief of the Royal Australian Navy, Vice Admiral (R) Michael Noonan, and the prominent naval strategist from King’s College London, Alessio Patalano, to address the proposed topic from the perspectives of a decision-maker and an academic, respectively. While both emphasized the importance of geography, they also highlighted the significance of a country’s decision to link its destiny to the sea. It is primarily a political will that gives meaning and direction to a commercial and naval reality.

The discussion also included the Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy, Vice Admiral Martin Connell, who underscored the importance of alliances in facing current oceanic challenges and cited the long-standing partnership with the Chilean Navy as an example.

To ensure that many people could access these valuable lectures, we requested verbal permission from the three speakers to reproduce them, to which they gladly agreed. AthenaLab took on the task of compiling them into a special document that we trust will be useful for a maritime Chile.