Global Take on Maritime Piracy and Maritime Terrorism

Introduction:

Pirates and piracy are once again becoming a growing cause of distress for the Latin American and Southeast Asian nations. The problem of maritime piracy is accompanied by the issue of maritime terrorism. These issues are the prominent cause of economic loss not only to the affected countries but to the entire globe.

India always had an edge over business via sea routes. Even today the international trade transactions are carried through the sea routes. Many of the sea routes pass through the Indian Ocean. The Indian Ocean has very harsh weather which affects the countries having it on their shores. Captains of the ship are generally well trained about the operation of vessels in such weather and therefore it is not the cause of anxiety. The reason for distress is the presence of pirates in the ocean. There is a risk of getting robbed and wounded if the ships encounter with the pirates. The pirates of Somalia are well known for their loots in the ship passing through the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. Therefore to protect the goods and supplies, the Indian government passed legislation clarifying the Indian stand on the problem. Somalia is very much involved in this problem of piracy and therefore it must be found out why is this so.

Maritime Piracy and Maritime terrorism

The actual meaning of maritime piracy is loot, detention or hijack of a ship or vessel in international waters. Maritime terrorism means a terror causing act in international seas with political aims. These two words are different in their meaning although they are very closely related. They are different as in terrorism is an act with intention to kill people whereas piracy has little or no intention to kill. The sole intention in piracy is to loot and rob the ship. Piracy may be committed for reasons like feeding the poor regions in various countries. Terrorism is carried out to realize selfish political aims.

Connections with Somalia

Somalia pirates are ill-famed in their piracy attacks. These attacks sometimes turn into violent clashes leading to deaths. It is a question to be answered that why Somalians are interested in taking their occupation as piracy.

Somali war, which has been in progress since the 1980s, is the primary cause of the piracy being an occupation in the nation. Before the war, Somalia was prosperous in terms of marine stock. Therefore the government at that time initiated programs to develop fisheries and agriculture. This aimed to employ rural poor. But with the commencement of the war, the central government of Somalia collapsed and the navy scattered. Somali waters were now no more protected; foreigners began the exploitation of the prosperity of the Somali seas and industrial waste generated being discarded in Somali land. Consequently, the fertility of the land depleted and marine resources like fisheries were already in the process of deterioration. Those poor who were dependent on these businesses were driven back into poverty. The conditions worsened when war evoked thus hardly leaving any resources. The conditions made the people to employ such means of maritime piracy to sustain themselves. They started taking over the ships which passed through the area. There was a huge amount of profits flowing into and therefore they made piracy as their sole profession and source of income which continues till date.

This is still in continuance because of the long-lasting situation of poverty in the country. The youth of Somalia is unemployed and there are no sources of income for them for their sustenance. Maritime piracy acts as a distraction from the prevailing circumstances of poverty and helps them earn their livelihood. It can thus be concluded that for economic reasons Somalia is into the business of piracy. 

The Gulf of Aden: Route to Global Economy

The Gulf of Aden is of great importance to the global economy. It is so because through this sea route Persian Gulf Oil gets transported to Suez Canal and other regional refineries, which is further shipped to other nations. The Gulf of Aden lies to the north of Somalia thus this route is a comfortable target for the pirates.

In the initial years of the 21st century, the Gulf of Aden appeared to be the core destination for piracy activities. But by 2013, the count of such attacks declined because of the security deployment for the vessels and international naval patrolling. Since the geographical location of India makes it important in the trade route, therefore it also has its warship protection strategies for securing the region.

Standpoints of South and Southeast Asia

In the South and Southeast Asia, three major developments have taken place in the past few years. These developments could reshape international trade and possibly handle the situations in maritime activities of piracy and terrorism.

Indian Developments

India’s Security and Growth for All Region (SAGAR) program aim to stabilize the disturbances in the Indian Ocean against activities like maritime piracy and maritime terrorism. It is a program which can solve the maritime problems and at the same time contribute towards the maintenance of cross border trade.

Another Indian development in this matter is introduction of The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019 in Lok Sabha. This bill aims to prevent actions involving maritime piracy and prosecute those who are involved in such actions. The bill includes stringent punishment that one would receive if his/her involvement in the acts is proved. The punishments also include the provision of the death penalty. This bill was introduced when the crew of the ship was kidnapped in the international waters. The objective of this bill is to fulfil the legal needs to protect India’s maritime business and to make sure the crew’s safety on the ships.

India and the Philippines Joint Security Force

In recent years, the Philippines grew to become the target for pirates. It was so because of the economy’s dependence on agriculture and fisheries.

India and the Philippines have a lot of scope for development because of the agrarian nature of their economies. However, the terror activities in both the nations (in India on land and in the Philippines on the waters) make the compromising situation for trade.

To avoid this situation, India and the Philippines signed a bilateral agreement to fight against maritime piracy and maritime terrorism.

Liberation from Maritime Piracy and Maritime Terrorism

As such there are no provisions in the international law to combat maritime piracy and maritime terrorism but several countries have come together with military and naval programs to protect global commerce. Organisations like the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) are also involved in these initiatives.

Combined Maritime Force 151

This is a naval initiative of 33 countries to combat maritime piracy attacks and strengthening relations with other regional players. This operation works as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions.

Operation Atlanta

It is officially called as the European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia. It aims the pirate activities off the Somali Coast. It keeps an eye on the fishing activities on the Somali Coast and helps Combined Maritime Force 151 and NATO’s Operation Ocean Shield. It also aids other EU’s mission to help to secure the international waters of the region.

Operation Ocean Shield

It is the plan of NATO to contribute to the Operation Enduring Freedom-Horn of Africa. The operation Enduring Freedom is an anti-piracy program in the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This program aided in strengthening the skillfulness required to tackle piracy attacks in the nations who contributed towards it. This program concluded in 2016 and in 2017 the piracy attacks were again on the rise.

Conclusion

Several ships have been raided by Somali pirates but they were unsuccessful in most of them. Still, proper legal protection and security was needed to protect international commerce. The steps taken by the Indian Government make the stand of India very clear in this matter. Similar to India, other nations have also significantly contributed towards this cause. But the issue is that these steps are meant for their self and regional interest.

References:

1. Sam Bateman, Piracy in Asia: A situation report, Asia &Pacific Policy Society (11 December 2019), https://www.policyforum.net/piracy-in-asia-a-situation-report/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Regional%20Cooperation,compared%20with%20203%20in%202015.&text=A%20particular%20feature%20of%20that,anchor%20in%20Bangladesh%20and%20Indonesia.

2. Møller, B. (2009). Piracy, maritime terrorism and naval strategy (No. 2009: 02). DIIS Report.
3. Abhijit Singh, “Maritime Terrorism in Asia: An Assessment”, ORF Occasional Paper No. 215, October 2019, Observer Research Foundation.
4. Piracy, maritime terrorism and regional interests.Major Frederick Chew, Singapore-Navy
5. Joubert, Lydelle. (2013). THE EXTENT OF MARITIME TERRORISM AND PIRACY: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS. Scientia Militaria : South African Journal of Military Studies.