By far the greatest concentration of piracy incidents globally in 2010 were off Somalia, but attacks in Southeast Asian waters have also increased. The downturn in international shipping following the global financial crisis led to more ships laid up in anchorages, such as off Johore east of Singapore and Vung Tau in Vietnam, where more attacks, usually of a minor nature, have occurred. Vessels underway have also been attacked recently around Mangkai and Anambas islands in the South China Sea, although some ships may be loitering in this area while waiting for work, making them more vulnerable to attack — perhaps another consequence of the global financial crisis.
There is speculation that pirates in Asia might adopt the Somali model of piracy. This is unlikely. Somali pirates operate off a lawless land where ships can be held securely while ransoms are negotiated. They are well-armed and organised, and able to operate far offshore. In contrast, pirates in Southeast Asia are less well armed and organised with limited operational range. It’s unlikely that Southeast Asian pirates could organise themselves to hijack a vessel and hold it for ransom without local intelligence agencies and police foiling their plans.
Japan is heavily involved in global efforts to counter sea piracy. Japan has actively used the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) for building local capacity to counter piracy in Southeast Asian waters. The Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) would be unacceptable for this activity both for Japan constitutionally and for regional countries.
Japan is also instrumental in other important initiatives to improve regional maritime security. These include establishing the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies (HACGA) meetings, the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), and the Cooperative Mechanism for Maritime Safety and Environmental Protection in the Malacca and Singapore Straits. HACGA meetings are a very useful, if under-appreciated, forum for regional maritime security cooperation and confidence-building. The last HACGA meeting, held in Shanghai last October, saw a significant relaxation of the freeze on high level military exchanges between India and China, with the attendance of the chief of the Indian Coast Guard.
Piracy off Somalia was a critical turning point for the Japanese constitutionality of overseas military deployments. After increasing attacks on Japanese ships and following the example of China, Japan decided to deploy JMSDF ships and aircraft to protect Japanese shipping off Somalia. Japan now plans to open its first overseas military base during 2011 in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, to provide an airfield for maritime patrol aircraft and a permanent port facility for warships.
The international shipping industry is a major victim of piracy. Shipowners suffer extra costs due to piracy, but the ultimate victims of piracy are the seafarers who may be exposed to physical violence during an attack, have their personal valuables stolen, or suffer the privations of being held hostage for many months onboard a hijacked ship. The recent incident where Korean marines killed eight pirates while successfully releasing a Korean-owned merchant ship from Somali pirate control could lead to escalating violence against seafarers.
While frequently lobbying for increased efforts by governments, the shipping industry might also do more itself to ensure that ships are not successfully attacked. There are still many sub-standard ships at sea, and some ships are not following best management practice guidelines and recommended procedures for countering piracy. Well-operated and maintained vessels with well-trained and efficient crews are much more likely to take all the proper precautions against attack. Also, some shipowners faced with increasing costs and lower revenues due to the global financial crisis have cut the size and wages of crews, failing to recognise that underpaid and over-worked crews are not conducive to maritime security.
Apart from the direct threat of piracy to shipping, there is also a wider strategic context. Piracy has served the broader strategic interests of the rising powers of Asia — China, India and Japan. All three countries have sought to play a role in anti-piracy operations both off Somalia and in Southeast Asia, but so far an element of strategic competition has been evident in their initiatives. They have all deployed warships to Somalia and have provided capacity building assistance to local security forces both in the Indian Ocean and in Southeast Asia. These actions may be as much about regional power and influence as about countering piracy.
Dr Sam Bateman is a Professorial Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), University of Wollongong, and a Senior Fellow and Adviser to the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.