Navy’s long standing services
Articles 100 to 107 and 110 of the Law of the Sea (1982) sets out alegal framework for combatting piracy and armed robbery at sea. Article 100 provides that “[a]ll States shall cooperate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any state.”
In today’s globalised world where international economy runs through the ocean, piracy is deemed a major threat to maritime security. Following a sharp rise in Somali piracy in 2008, both the United Nations Security Council as well as the General Assembly in their respective resolutions repeatedly stressedon the need for international cooperation at the global, regional, sub-regional and bilateral levels to eradicate the scourge in accordance with international law.
The ocean area threatened by Somali piracy is home to two-thirds of world’s major choke points, some fifty percent of population and sixty four percent of global trade flows. Since 2006 when it first caught the international attention, the Somali piracy has played havoc with international shipping. By 2008 pirates were operating with practical impunity in the Gulf of Aden. At the height of their illicit operations (2009-10), Somali pirates struck as far away as 1,100 miles from Somali coast to successfully hijack commercial ships. This prompted a UN resolution that mandated the launch of naval task force in the region. Since then, warships under various coalitions from the United States, European Union and NATO have played a critical role to thwart as well as prevent successful pirate attacks.
In January 2009, the United States Navy Central Command, under the banner of Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) established a task force (151) to counter Somali piracy. The CMF is a multinational naval task force of some 30 countries mandated to establish maritime order in roughly 2.5 million sq miles of international waters in the western Indian Ocean. Pakistan Navy became one of the first to join the task force 151. Armed with UN Security Council Resolutions 1816, 1838, 1846, 1851 and 1897, the task force mission is to disrupt piracy and armed robbery at sea and to engage with regional and other partners to build capacity and improve relevant capabilities in order to protect global maritime commerce and secure freedom of navigation. Pakistan Navy has held the command of this force for a record six times since it was first instituted.
Thanks to a blend of constant patrolling by over 70 warships from 12 different countries, including Pakistan, and coupled with Best Management Practices (BMP) adopted by the commercial shippers, piracy in large swathes of the Indian Ocean is on decline today.
The now receding threat of Somali piracy has its seeds sown in the civil war that brought down the country’s last functional government in 1991. With the collapse of state and absence of any effective coast guard services, the country’s 3,300 km long coastline became an international pillaging ground. It was “free for all” as fishing fleets from around the world illegally plundered the Somali fish stocks. It had a telling impact on the local fishing industry which till then was with poor ill-equipped Somali fishermen. The mass plunder by regional and extra regional hunters further impoverished this community. According to UN an estimated $ 300 million worth of seafood was stolen from the country’s coastline each year. As violence and deadly power struggle on land continued, poachers too went on to frenetically steal and deprive local population of its precious sea resources of income until they were compelled to defend their industry. The first Somali pirate gangs surfaced in late 90s. They never looked back thereafter and gradually expanded their sphere of influence, robbing and hijacking international shipping for ransom.
In 2010, the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) established a piracy High Risk Area (HRA). The wide expanse in the western Indian Ocean also included Pakistan’s 240,000 sq km of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Inclusion of Pakistan’s EEZ was done despite protests by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and opposition by the Pakistan Navy. For Islamabad, the reasons were simple: with its constant presence and vigilance, Pakistan Navy had ensured that the country’s maritime territory of interest and one adjacent and relevant to the world at large remained free of any acts of piracy that could hamper flow of international sea commerce. As a commitment, one dedicated ship of Pakistan Navy continued patrolling the North Arabian Sea and no incident of piracy whatsoever had occurred in the precincts under the jurisdiction of Pakistan. The request nonetheless never found an acceptance with CGPCS.
Early this month (October), the CGPCS announced the revised HRA which will be effective from 01 December this year. Under the revised limits of HRA, almost the entire EEZ of Pakistan now stands excluded. This welcome development comes just as Pakistan recently won its long standing claim over extension in the sea limits from 200nm to 350nm at United Nations Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (UN CLCS). Seen in the backdrop of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other developments in the region, the two events (removal of Pakistan’s EEZ from piracy HRA and extension in maritime province to 350nm) are likely to herald the country in an era of new maritime beginning.
It may be worth mentioning that China today leads the world in maritime infrastructure development. Three most important dimensions of this development are ship building, port development and creation of deep sea scientific research facilities. Chinese reforms in the ship building have enabled cutting edge platforms from oceanographic research vessels to deep sea manned submersibles, maritime surveillance and patrol ships, ice breakers, ultra deep water rigs, submarine rescue ships and even deep water rigs. In 2013, seven Chinese ports figured in the global top 10 container ports in terms of throughput in million tonnes equivalent units (TEUs). Beijing has made extraordinary breakthroughs in deep sea exploration. Recently, the Chinese manned submersible set a world record by carrying out the deepest sea dive yet, going down beyond 7,000 metres.
Along with China, Pakistan can now enter into an agreement for marine science research and development to meaningfully exploit sea bed and subsoil resources on equitable sharing. Alongside, the two countries could also engage in sustainable development of fisheries to benefit large coastal community of Pakistan. This opportunity comes as providence — Pakistan may never have it again.
The ongoing developments in the Indian Ocean and larger Asia Pacific region begs Pakistan to reflect and revisit its long, obsession with land. The requirement now is a sagacious and long term prioritisation of issues at the highest politico-military level and in the best national interest.
