A global approach to maritime pirates and terrorism

This article discusses and focuses on an Indian viewpoint in the near relation between piracy and maritime terrorism.

Have you ever wondered if there are pirates today? Okay, they do, and they have become a growing cause of concern for the countries of Latin America and Southeast Asia. The problem of maritime piracy falls along with the pirates of the sea. We have been one of the most critical reasons for the danger of economic decline.

When we take India into account, it has had a strategic market advantage from the past when it comes to the sea route market. Many export and import transactions are carried out by sea routes most of the time. Many of the routes cross the Indian Ocean, notorious for the harsh weather that has plagued the countries of the South East and Australia.

But most seafarers are not concerned about the weather. This is the danger that the pirates will be pillaged and wounded. In order to shield ships and commodities from the shore, the Indian government has introduced a bill to amend their firm status to secure their footsteps both on land and on the sea. Somali pirates have become notorious for their attacks off the coast of the Arabian and Indian Ocean.

The question is also that the South Asian and South-East Asian countries equate policies against the Western countries and other organizations. The situation has also been contrasted. The problem is also why Somalia is so active in piracy, what events have made young people engage in the trade, and whether this can be changed.

Somali links to maritime piracy and terrorism

The Pirates from Somalia are known for their piracy attacks. Many of them have been brutal encounters that over the years have resulted in many deaths. Yet how, why, and when have pirates been adopted by the people of Somalia as their profession?

Who are sea pirates and marine terrorism?

The precise definition of maritime piracy is the theft, expulsion, or capture of a ship on the world's seas and maritime terrorism relating to all criminal activities on foreign waters of political end. Although the words and activities are closely related, they are not the same as the pirates of marine terrorists, but not as otherwise. In essence, piracy is to rob, with little or no killing intention, while terrorism entails not only an accident or murder but a political motive. Piracy is made to cultivate the poor in a given country, while terrorism is simply a means of selfish political agenda.

Why did Somalia get into the photo?

Did you know of the raging civil war in Somalia? That is a big cause for piracy that has been going on since the 1980s and is a source for Somali young people.

Somalia had an incredibly rich marine stock before the start of the war and the government of then initiated an agricultural and fisheries development programme, using many from the rural sector. The federal government collapsed with the battle to abolish the Somali Navy. International factories were failing to protect Somali waters, and the abundance of the waters was exploited as all the industrial waste was produced was deposited in Somali lands. This had, of course, caused the fertile Somalian land to exhaust and the existing marine and fish stocks to deteriorate. The poor people who had previously kept up their agriculture and fisheries work again were forced into poverty. With the war destroying only a little capital behind them, things became even worse.

The men had to rely on aggressive tactics to take charge of ships coming into the coast, motivated by the circumstances. Piracy was their only source of wealth, as you saw, benefit pouring into their families, and had to adjust to changing times to sustain this agony.

What is the explanation for such pillaging?

The Somali pirates lived until now because of Somalia's persistent misery. The youth can't spend their time otherwise. Piracy not only acts as a diversion from their sad situations, but it also adds to the cash in question. The key motive behind piracy off the coast of Somalia can, therefore, be said to be cultural. Perhaps if there had been a job reach other than to become part of the war and arms industry in Somalia, then Somali youth's economic needs could be met by eliminating them from the poverty cycle and by providing adequate employment opportunities for the hijacking and piracy of Somali pirates.

However, the reason - Why Somali pirates are so concerned in the world? is not that their motives for piracy are due to weak economic infrastructure, but that their loots cost an annual economic loss of 18 billion dollars per 2013 figure that may have been reduced in recent years, but remains a significant cause of the world's slowdown in economic commerce.

The Gulf of Aden

The Gulf of Aden has an immense benefit and value for the globalized economy because, on the sea path, 11 percent of seaborne oils are transportation from Suez Canal to local refineries, and are shipped into other countries, leading to a global economy, which is Persian Gulf oils. The importance of oil is invaluable and the oil market is highly competitive every day. Somalia is located in the southern part of the gulf, thus being a simple pirate target.

It was established in the late 2000s as a pirate hub. Through 2013, pirate bombings were slowly diminishing, as private security operations and multinational naval patrols were actively deployed. India is also secured by its warship, as it imports billions of dollars of foreign trade and exports to its thriving economy. India is a very important target of its economy.

The Madagascar case and the other

The prime location of Madagascar at the point where the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean converge has become a popular place for pirates. In ancient times pirates began in the area due to the hospitality and desire to trade with the people of Madagascar. The fact that Europeans were not present was another explanation. When Madagascar became a French Colony, all contact with pirates and their activity ceased in 1896.

Due to the outbreak in Somali pirates, the number of cases related to pirating has increased in recent years. The East African Ocean, as well as the West Indian Ocean, are the highest risks as most of the pirate attacks in Somalia were carried out until 2011, with an average of 170 attacks over the years 2007-2010, even with naval guarding ships increasingly. The global economic loss in 2011 alone was about $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion.

Two incidents, both in 2010, indicate that Madagascar is likely to be one of the worst-affected by Somali pirates and armed robbery.

• The Felicity Case: in this case, the pirates had deported the creamers to the ship as their mother ship, after locking up and plundering all the amounts of rice, beans, sugar, etc.

• The M/V Zoulficar case: this is one of these cases of pirates and armed robbery, including allegations of kidnapping, murders, abuse, attacks, and battery. The boat was also used as a maternal ship to rob other vessels after it was captured by the pirates, one of them being a minor. The pirates killed one of the ship's leading engineers on an open fire, and the others were held captive for 5 months before being identified.

While the threat of piracy and armed robbery, which often becomes a maritime terrorist act, is that, even under international law the approach to criminalize activities is traditional. Nevertheless, regulations remain in effect under the Law of the Convention of Sea 1982 and the Convention of the High Seas in 1958 and the Suppression of Illicit Acts of Violence Against Sea Protection 1988 to the degree that they are not contrary to the laws of that maritime region and have applied for the penalization of piracy activities.

Status of Central and South Asia

Over the past few years, in South Asia and Southeast Asia, the potential future of foreign trade and ways of resolving the issue of maritime destructive piracy and terrorism have been redefined by the three major developments.

Indian developments

• India’s SAGAR

India’s Security and Growth for All-Region program aim to achieve and maintain peace in the troubled Indian Ocean area against activities such as piracy at sea and terrorism. It also offers India a forum to address maritime issues and contribute to maritime cooperation with regional players such as Madagascar and Mauritius to allow cross-border trade to be continued and to prevent disturbing disruptions.

• The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill, 2019

The Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill 2019 is a resolution put forward in the Lok Sabha for the prevention and prosecution of individuals involved in the actions of maritime piracy. China has strict guidelines for prosecuting if it is found to be engaged in sea piracy, including a sentence of death. The step was taken after the confiscation of a ship with 18 crew members and the abduction of the men. Although other tribunals are called upon to enforce fines on the captured Indian Navy and Coast Guard laws against armed robbery and the admiralty jurisdictions. The lack of a specific law makes it a fatiguing and exhausting task to pursue the offenders through the process. This law would fulfill the legal requirements not only to safeguard the maritime trade in India but also to ensure the protection of the crew on ships.

Joint security forces between India and the Philippines

Since the economic dependence on agriculture and fisheries has a steady development along coasts to furthest spread foreign trade, the Philippines has emerged as another target for pirate activities and maritime terrorism.

There is a lot to be achieved in business relations between India and the Philippines since both countries are agricultural economies and are moving the marine sector in the international region. The growth of these relationships is already beginning. However, we are all aware that India is being terrorized on land. It has also been protected by international waters. So when it comes to maritime piracy the Philippines has quite a lot of incidents. A combination of these two factors jeopardizes trade ties between the two countries.

Have they signed MOU or any Agreement?

India and the Philippines have signed a bilateral agreement to counter sea piracy and terrorism, including in tourism and technology, to promote their business by interfering as little as possible.

Indonesian outlook

According to the International Maritime Organization, Indonesia had most of the meetings with pirates in the South East region. However, the number of pirate attacks against the actual and tentative robbery attacks on boats had decreased by around 76.7%, since 2015. The Indonesian Maritimes and the Western Fleet's team allowed the attacks on Indonesian ships to reduce and the international trade facility was been secured.

Any piracy relief and maritime terrorism relief?

Although maritime piracy and terrorism have not yet been included in the laws of international law, there have been various military and naval actions introduced by several countries to ensure their independence from world sea trade. Many of the programs also include organizations including the - UN, the European Union (EU), and the Organization of the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO).

Combined Maritime Force 151

It is a 33-nation maritime initiative to combat and end the maritime piracy attacks and improve ties with other regional partners to promote navigational freedoms and safeguard international maritime trade. The Unified Maritime Powers is one of three maritime operations that operate according to the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

Operation Atlanta

The European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) is officially recognized as Somalia, focusing on pirating operations off the shore of Somalia. The Fisheries Office also controls fisheries off Somalia's coastline and supports CMF 151, NATO OPS, and other EU individual missions to improve the region's maritime stability.

Operation Ocean Shield

This is a NATO program that will contribute to Operation Ensure Freedom-Horn of Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Gulf of Aden anti-pirates program. The program helped improve and enhance the ability to counter-piracy attacks in the participating nations, including the Indian Navy after the United States Navy. Nevertheless, piracy attacks have again been reported since its end in 2016, albeit less so.

Conclusion

The Somali pirates carried out many raids on ships, many of which were not successful, but were sufficient to become an issue against which proper legal and practical security was required. In the recent bill adopted by Lok Sabha in 2019 it was made clear that, while the likelihoods of successful raids are small, the Indian Government takes precautionary steps for combating the danger of maritime piracy.

Similarly, other countries have joined forces to take global action to create a better global trading environment through maritime routes, but the problem is, that the global actions taken by the countries are limited to their regional interests and to their benefit. It shows that international law makes maritime crime and piracy difficult.

NATO operations were successful, but time constraints and these events were observed once more after its completion. It is a realistic test that needs to be done to resolve international maritime problems; but firstly, the circumstances for the Somali youth need to be changed or otherwise, all interventions will in reality drop to zero. Whatever steps are being taken.