HOW CHINA IS BATTLING ITS PIRATE PROBLEM
Austin Ramzy
Time, October 27, 2009
When Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese fishing boat in the Indian Ocean last November, there was little that China could do. The government said it was assessing the situation and hoping for help from authorities in the region. Last week when pirates overpowered the crew of a Chinese bulk carrier 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman pledged that China would make "an all-out effort to rescue the sailors and the ship."
What changed in a year? Since sending three warships to the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden in January, China is increasingly capable of defending its merchant vessels in the region. And the country is now more willing to display its growing military strength, as was demonstrated in the massive military parade held in Beijing on Oct.1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.
But having a military option this time around doesn't necessarily mean there's an easy solution. On Oct. 22 Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said that a rescue operation was underway. Since then, the pirates who captured the De Xin Hai have moved the coal carrier to the coast of Somalia near the city of Hobyo, according to the European Union Naval Force Atalanta, which conducts patrols in the region. Thus far there has been no indication that any of the ship's 25 Chinese crew members have been harmed, says Commander John Harbour, spokesman for the EU effort. Moving the vessel from the high seas to the Somali coast will make any rescue efforts far more challenging. ""It's extremely difficult to on board a ship once it's sitting alongside the coast," says Harbour. "Undoubtedly [the pirates] have been reinforced. As the Americans have discovered, they can be pretty resourceful individuals. It would be a dangerous operation militarily."
(...) [artículo aquí]
Austin Ramzy
Time, October 27, 2009
When Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese fishing boat in the Indian Ocean last November, there was little that China could do. The government said it was assessing the situation and hoping for help from authorities in the region. Last week when pirates overpowered the crew of a Chinese bulk carrier 700 miles off the coast of Somalia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman pledged that China would make "an all-out effort to rescue the sailors and the ship."
What changed in a year? Since sending three warships to the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden in January, China is increasingly capable of defending its merchant vessels in the region. And the country is now more willing to display its growing military strength, as was demonstrated in the massive military parade held in Beijing on Oct.1 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic.
But having a military option this time around doesn't necessarily mean there's an easy solution. On Oct. 22 Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ma Zhaoxu said that a rescue operation was underway. Since then, the pirates who captured the De Xin Hai have moved the coal carrier to the coast of Somalia near the city of Hobyo, according to the European Union Naval Force Atalanta, which conducts patrols in the region. Thus far there has been no indication that any of the ship's 25 Chinese crew members have been harmed, says Commander John Harbour, spokesman for the EU effort. Moving the vessel from the high seas to the Somali coast will make any rescue efforts far more challenging. ""It's extremely difficult to on board a ship once it's sitting alongside the coast," says Harbour. "Undoubtedly [the pirates] have been reinforced. As the Americans have discovered, they can be pretty resourceful individuals. It would be a dangerous operation militarily."
(...) [artículo aquí]
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment