Why maritime interception can provoke less opposition

James Cable argues that high-seas operations can attract less acute political opposition than comparable intrusions on land. Local naval superiority, a plausible pretext, and avoidance of a stronger navy can give an intervening power considerable freedom of action. During the Algerian struggle, he contrasts persistent criticism of the French Army with the limited challenge to French naval interceptions, which he describes as probably illegal. Stopping a merchant ship can infringe sovereignty even when observers react less strongly than they would to troops crossing a frontier. His Cold War comparison also notes the disappearance of a predominant Royal Navy committed to keeping the seas open to ships of nations not hostile to Britain.