More warships in the area are needed
Even as India presses for “clear demarcation” of piracy-infested waters as well as clarity on the issue of deploying armed guards on merchant ships, the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) wants New Delhi and other independent players to deploy more assets to fight sea pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Holding that Somali pirates had now even started carrying out attacks in the Northeast Indian Ocean region after facing heat in the Gulf of Aden, EU NAVFOR operation commander Rear Admiral Duncan Potts said more warships in the area from independent players like India, China and Japan would be a stronger deterrent against pirates.
India, however, wants all nations to come together under the UN flag to battle the menace of piracy before it becomes “cancerous” by developing a nexus with terrorism. Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, during the recent Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) in South Africa, stressed the need for “clear demarcation” of piracy-infested waters as well as setting up “standard operating procedures” to boost inter-operability among the different navies and taskforces operating in the region.
In wake of the recent killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast by Italian naval personnel on board a tanker, India is also keen on clear-cut international policies on the entire issue of deploying armed guards on merchant ships.
Incidentally, Indian warships have ensured the safe passage of around 2,000 ships from 50 countries through the piracy-infested Gulf of Aden after they began to be deployed there since October 2008.
Unlike the European Union Naval Force and the NATO, India along with Russia, China and Japan operates independently there and recently started coordinating their patrols to provide security cover to more number of ships passing through the pirate-infested waters.
Briefing visiting Indian journalists at EU NAVFOR Northwood headquarters near London, Potts said around 25 warships from various countries and groups operate in the vast region of 2.5 million square miles and “more warships there will be a bigger deterrent” against pirates.
The EU NAVFOR, comprising a fleet of four to seven Surface Combat Vessels and two to three Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft under Operation Atalanta in the Gulf of Aden, has now been granted permission by the European Union to destroy pirate logistics bases situated along the Somali coastline without putting their boots on the ground.
Referring to ongoing investigations, EU officials pointed out that piracy has to be understood as organized crime that is happening on land and at sea, with kidnapping crews and ships for ransom as a “business model”. They said the piracy network leaders, financiers and instigators went largely unpunished even if some of their “foot soldiers” were less lucky and ended up in prison or did not come back from sea.
An official said, “Europol and Interpol are closely cooperating in collecting and analyzing data on piracy cases and modalities are in place to allow them to receive relevant information from EU NAVFOR and Navies of other countries including India.”
Source: The Times of India
