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| Southeast Asia |
| Yar! Sea piracy could cripple world trade: Singapore |
| 2004-06-07 |
| via Khaleej Times - EFL SINGAPORE - Attacks on ships by sea pirates in Southeast Asia are resembling military operations â growing bolder, more violent and fuelling fears of an attack that would cripple world trade, Singapore said on Sunday. As the United States considers plans for a Regional Maritime Security Initiative to tighten surveillance of Southeast Asiaâs busy Malacca Strait, through which a third of world trade passes, Singapore said the risk of a devastating attack was growing. âWe have been alarmed not only by the increase in the number of pirate attacks in the sea lanes of communication in this part of the world, but also in the nature of the piracy attacks,â said Singaporeâs coordinating minister for security, Tony Tan. âIn previous years when you had a piracy attack, what it meant is that you have a sampan or a boat coming up to a cargo ship, pirates throwing up some ropes, scrambling on board, ransacking the ship for valuables, stealing money and then running away,â he told an Asian security forum. âBut the last piracy attack that took place in the Straits of Malacca showed a different pattern,â he added. The pirates were well armed, operating sophisticated weapons and commanding high-speed boats. âThey conducted the operation almost with like military precision,â Tan said. âInstead of just ransacking the ship for valuables, they took command of the ship, and steered the ship for about an hour, and then eventually left with the captain in their captivity,â he said. âTo all of us, this is reminiscent of the pattern by which terrorists mount an attack.â ...more... Malaysiaâs recent rejection of US offers to assist in policing the shipping lanes seems either foolish or suspicious. |
| Posted by:.com |
| #12 Malaysiaâs recent rejection of US offers to assist in policing the shipping lanes seems either foolish or suspicious. Ah, this is where I have some experience. The Malaysians are exhibiting a combination of playing to domestic politics, distrust of their neighbors (esp. Indonesia) and an extremely peverse pride. The Malaysians have, IMHO, the second or third best equipped and professional navy in the region. They (and the Thais) knew they had a growing piracy problem back in the early 90s. Even low-level 'professional' conversations about the problem ran into the same wall. As far as the nature of piracy is concerned: at the risk of repeating myself, it's one of several things. Somebody has realized there's money to be made and the pros have moved in, or it's become a para-military operation. There are reports that members of the Indonesian Navy are 'moonlighting'. While it's most likely Islamists, I wouldn't discount a certain large Asian neighbor either. Re the Q-ship. Though a "satisfying" solution, it's not really a good idea. Given the current political situation, it's unlikely to happen. If it did continue, it'd have to be a US or US/Singaporean operation to maintain operational security, and then only able to operate in restricted area. There are other, evolutionary, problems that I won't tie up bandwidth over. It woudl make more sense to go with a sting operation than a Q-ship. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-06-07 11:24:12 PM |
| #11 What would really put the icing on the cake for a Q-ship (though also a little over the top) would be a MK75 76mm/3 inch gun (10 nm, 80 rpm). |
| Posted by: Chemist 2004-06-07 7:41:18 PM |
| #10 Definitely a job for Q-ships. Cheap to outfit too. Couple of .50 AA rigs, a couple ofhidden, pop-up Bofors emplacements, and miniguns - lots of miniguns. I think torpedoes would be a little over-the-top, though, don't you? |
| Posted by: mojo 2004-06-07 5:15:03 PM |
| #9 Make these scurvy dogs walk the plank, savvy? Where's Orlando Bloom and the guy who played Commodore Norrington when you need them . . . ? |
| Posted by: The Doctor 2004-06-07 11:49:27 AM |
| #8 Ragnar, who is John Galt? |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-07 11:12:39 AM |
| #7 Mike---Are you suggesting "Trolling for Pirates?" |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-06-07 11:09:05 AM |
| #6 The Straits of Malacca are not international waters. See the whole boring story here. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-07 10:54:23 AM |
| #5 The US does not need the approval of any country to police international waters |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-06-07 10:42:14 AM |
| #4 Maybe we need a 21-st century Q-ship: get a VLCC, pump her full of seawater so she looks loaded, and fit her out with .50-cal M2HBs and maybe a Vulcan or two, cleverly disguised, and a platoon of Marines well-versed in the "repel boarders" drill. |
| Posted by: Mike 2004-06-07 10:41:30 AM |
| #3 It's not clear to me why we need Malaysia's cooperation to deal with piracy on the high seas. It'd be nice, sure, because then we could nail some of the pirates within their territorial limits. But absent their help, the US Navy has every right under international law and the law of the sea to capture and hang pirates on the spot. Time to varnish the yardarm and break out a new rope! |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-06-07 10:35:32 AM |
| #2 âIf terrorists were to seize a tanker, a large ship, and sink it into a narrow part of the Straits it will cripple world trade. It would have the iconic large impact which terorrists seek,â Tan said. It wouldn't be visually stunning which is what they seek, but it would be a pretty good tactic. âWe are concerned that terrorists may seize control of a tanker with a cargo of lethal materials, LNG (liquefied natural gas) perhaps, chemicals, and use it as a floating bomb against our port,â Tan said. That takes care of the visually stunning requirement. |
| Posted by: Zpaz 2004-06-07 10:11:56 AM |
| #1 Try and stop me. |
| Posted by: Ragnar Danneskjold 2004-06-07 9:39:10 AM |