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June 12, 2009
BRUSSELS (AFP) — NATO defence ministers agreed Friday to prolong the
military alliance's anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, with at
least six countries ready to take part in the new mission.NATO
Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said the ministers had decided
to deploy the so-called Standing Naval Maritime Group Two (SNMG 2) for
an as-yet undetermined period.
"That will take place in the
beginning of July. That means that NATO will continue to play its role
in the fight against piracy," he told reporters after chairing two days
of his talks.
"There are six nations represented, and it might
well be, according to what some ministers mentioned, that other nations
might be ready and willing to join," he said at his last ministerial
meeting before stepping down next month.
A NATO diplomat said, on
condition of anonymity, that Britain, Greece, Italy, Turkey and the
United States would take part, and that Canada, Germany and Ukraine
might do so as well.
|
| NATO has so far conducted two short-term missions using warships in the pirate-infested region |
The move comes after NATO ambassadors have
agreed to launch a long-term anti-piracy operation dubbed Ocean Shield.
Until now, NATO has conducted two short-term missions using warships in
the region.
The current mission's mandate ends on June 28.
It is unclear exactly how Ocean Shield will be made up, but the operation will at least initially be carried out by the SNMG 2.
According
to a European diplomat, the EU plans to extend its mission in the
pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia until the end of next
year.
Ecoterra International, a green non-governmental group
monitoring illegal marine activities in the region, says Somali pirates
have carried out 126 attacks so far this year, including 44 successful
sea-jackings.
They captured 49 ships in total last year.
At
last count 14 ships were still being held by Somali pirates in the Gulf
of Aden and Indian Ocean, together with more than 200 seamen, almost a
quarter of them Filipinos.
The world's naval powers have deployed
dozens of warships to the region over the past year, in a declared
attempt to curb attacks by pirates threatening one of the world's
busiest maritime trade routes.
Observers say piracy can only be
eradicated with measures to end the chaos inside Somalia, where close
to two decades of war and lawlessness have made piracy one of the few
viable businesses.
SOURCE: AFP, June 12, 2009