In Hot Pursuit

Picture an ocean as vast as continental Australia. Then double it. You're looking at an area larger than either the Arctic Ocean or Antarctica. It's certainly not as chilly as those two extremities, but that's the size of the ocean and continental shelf over which Australia claims control. While a 15 million-sq.-km maritime zone cannot possibly be protected in the usual sense, the fact that this briny buffer exists offers some peace of mind in an era of terrorism and illegal immigrants. A tight border-control regime means shuffling money, people, electronics, boats and airplanes to cover the most likely - and...