The center is developing knowledge in maritime strategy, focusing on Israel's maritime surroundings: the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The center does so in five core areas: (1) regional security and foreign policy, (2) the mobility of goods, people and ideas, (3) law, (4) energy (5) and the environment. The center was established in response to the of rising significance of the maritime domain both globally and in our region: the emerging strategic maritime competition between the United State and China, the expansion of exclusive economic zones (EEZ) and the crucial role of the seas in the international economic system both as a source of economic activity as well as serving as the world's main trade route. Our immediate environment saw a similar rise in the significance of the seas including the oil discoveries in the eastern Mediterranean, the evolution of the Israeli navy into a national strategic arm, Israel's total dependence on sea trade, and the growing realization that future development of national infrastructure may have to be done in the sea as land is becoming scarce.