Suspected pirates hold the crew of a Chinese fishing vessel hostage.Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason R. Zalasky / U.S. Navy
From The L.A. Times:
Nations and shipping companies have different takes on how to battle piracy at sea.
Reporting from Washington and London -- The Saudis chose to negotiate. The Indian navy opened fire. The U.S. navy said shipping companies should do more to protect their vessels, and the ship owners said governments should guard the high seas.
But everyone wants the barely functioning government of Somalia to control the pirates who sail from its ports to seize the cargo ships and tankers that ply past.
Mightily armed, but slightly baffled, 21st century civilization appears to have no collective answer to piracy, a scourge once considered banished into history.
"These are not just unskilled bandits," said Russian navy spokesman Igor Dygalo. "Most likely we are dealing with two or even three pirate syndicates planning these attacks. They have very good sea communications and they're well armed."
Read more ....
My Comment: This is a battle of wills. The pirates have the desire for an easy score, and are doing everything in their power to achieve that. In the meantime the world community is paralyzed, with no one willing to assume a leadership role in organizing a proper military response to this threat.The U.N. is completely ineffective. The bordering African states are themselves embroiled in political chaos. The Indian Navy has shown some fortitude, but their resources in the region are limited. Everyone else are just not interested in starting a shooting war with a bunch of fisherman.
The only maritime power that can accomplish anything is the U.S. Navy. But because of decisions from the top ..... nothing is clearly going to be done until President Obama assumes office. This is going to be President Obama's first international diplomatic test. It is also going to be his first decision to authorize the use of military force in the international arena (with events in Iraq and Afghanistan being the exception).