Europe expands anti-piracy efforts

By Zhang Wen

As the threat of pirates looks to continue affecting international trade by sea, Europe is expanding its anti-piracy taskforce operations and seeking deeper cooperation with Asian countries, especially China.

"EUNVFOR has increased its area of operations to maintain pressure on the pirates and to continue to constrain their freedom of action," Major General Buster Howes, operation commander of EUNVFOR Somalia, said Wednesday.

Currently, EUNVFOR, together with other counter-piracy forces, is conducting regular patrols in the Gulf of Aden, off the Somali coast and in parts of the Indian Ocean.

Somali pirates hijack vessels and make tens of millions of dollars in ransoms, despite the presence of several warships, deployed by navies of NATO, the European Union, Russia, China, South Korea and India, in the region to protect cargo and cruise ships.

"Piracy, due to its low risks and high profits, has grown into an international business rather than local practice. This global issue needs further cooperation among the international community. Europe hopes China continues to deepen cooperation with three international counter-piracy naval forces - NATO, the European Union and the Coalition Maritime Force," Lieutenant General David Leakey, former director-general of the European Union Military Staff, said Tuesday at the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting in Beijing.

Leakey also suggested that China use its influence to encourage all Asian commercial ships to use the MSC (HOA) information system to protect their interests.

Jonathan Holslag, a researcher from the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies (BICCS), suggested that China and Europe establish a coordination mechanism, and he said military attachés of EU member states in Beijing could help push forward this process.

According to the Chinese foreign ministry, China supports anti-piracy efforts off the coast of Somalia in accordance with international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and has engaged in international cooperation to safeguard shipping safety in Somali waters.

BICCS data shows that 36 percent of China's maritime trade passes through the Indian Ocean, and 47 percent of China's oil supply comes from the region.

However, as Yang Yinchu, a senior consultant at the China Institute of International Strategic Studies, points out, many factors have set a barrier for comprehensive international cooperation to counter piracy.

"There are still big differences among countries on how they want to cooperate and how far they want to engage in regarding the anti-piracy issue," Yang said, adding there are loopholes within International Maritime Law on the running of counter-piracy operations by international naval forces that, to some extent, limit the capability of the forces.

According to Yang, China has proposed that each country be in charge of different escort zones, in order to share information and work efficiently while remaining independent.