All That Blue: Re-sourcing, Ports and Geopolitics in the Pacific

The Pacific Ocean is set to become the next site for the industrialization of ocean resources under the wider Blue Economy framework. This ocean continent, stretching a third of the Earth’s surface, is once again being prised open into a frontier for natural resource grabs and extractive industry by powerful governments, institutions, their agents and financiers. Not only are these powerful forces making the same old promises of economic salvation for the region, their gospel requires the resources of the deep as a precursor to the great green energy transition – humanity’s only escape route from a global climate catastrophe.

“All That Blue, That is my Dream” is a visual representation of how the industrialisation of the ocean is being pursued. It emulates the dream of British mining magnate and politician, Cecil Rhodes, who famously dreamed of a “red-line” denoting British dominions in Africa and the Cape-to-Cairo rail line as key to securing resources, military movements and imperial control.

It tells a parallel story of how powerful external forces follow resources right across our Blue Pacific continent, mapping out vast expanses of ocean space and planting their flags to mark what they consider to be theirs.

The region faces many ongoing challenges from Deep Sea Mining, climate change, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic among others. For the Pacific, refusing to be shaped by external powers focused on exploiting the region will be an ongoing struggle, its continued ability to navigate these challenges will rely on maintaining sovereign control over its territories, resources and development futures.