The Somali pirates who strike at will on high seas may find themselves cornered if the UN Security Council accepts India’s suggestion for UN-led naval operations to contain their menace. New Delhi also suggested “sanitisation” of Somalia’s coastline through identified corridors and buffer zones and tracking fishing vessels around its coast.
Besides, the government has called for tracking the ransom money and prosecuting its beneficiaries for abetting piracy. These are parts of a fivepoint formula that India has proposed at a UNSC meeting in New York less than a month of becoming a nonpermanent member. The issue of piracy is expected to be debated again later this month.
New Delhi further wants the affected nations to enact laws to criminalise piracy as defined in the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” and prosecute suspected pirates apprehended off the Somali coast.
Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma on Monday termed the Somali pirates moving their activities closer to India a “disturbing trend”. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard recently captured 15 Somali pirates 75 nautical miles off Lakshadweep and rescued over 20 Thai and Myanmarese fishermen from them. The pirates have been taken to Mumbai for interrogation by security officials, who are also probing possible terror links. They will be handed over to the Mumbai police on Wednesday.
According to the Navy, some piracy incidents happened closer to India last October and November. The Navy is planning larger deployment of forces along the coast. The navy has deployed 23 ships in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008.
Source: IT
Pirates: India suggests UN-led fightback plan
Published: February 9, 2011
