A list of global sites deemed sensitive to US national security interests, recently leaked by Wikileaks, acts as a window into a world where global free trade has been disrupted and access to primary resources is paramount.

There is a reason why, in the midst of public spending crackdowns all over the globe, governments are refusing to cut back on building naval power; with many such budgets actually seeing an increase.  It is because states the world over all require the same primary inputs for their economic well-being, and the international system that guarantees access to these inputs- global free trade- is increasingly not being taken for granted in the coming decades. Thus, naval power has taken on added significance as a way for countries to protect overseas shipping routes and access to primary resources.