Piracy and Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean by Fanuel Lakew

1. “Piracy and Maritime Security in the
Indian Ocean”
Peace and Conflict Analysis (INP-521)
By Fanuel Lakew, Central University of Gujarat
fanuellak@gmail.com
Nov 2017

2. Map of Indian Ocean
Source: http://www.yourchildlearns.com

3. 1. Introduction
• Bordered by Asia, Africa, Indonesia and Australia.
• the most active ocean
• “Whoever controls the Indian Ocean will dominate Asia, the destiny
of the world will be decided on its waters,” Alfred Thayer Mahan
• comprises 38 littoral states, 24 Ocean territories and 17 landlocked
countries. It is home to 1/3rd of the world‘s population and world‘s
fastest growing economies along with some of the poorest.
• Trade and choke points, rich in mineral and abundant fishing
grounds
• piracy, maritime terrorism, narcotics trafficking small arms and light
weapons trafficking, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
and transnational, among others as challenges
• The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLS)

4. 2. Conceptual framework
• No a single agreed definition on piracy
• “Sea piracy is the act of boarding any vessel with the intent
to commit theft or other crime and with the capability to
use force for the furtherance of the act,” the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB)
• Maritime security is a prevention of unlawful acts in the
maritime domain, whether they directly impact the country
or region in question, or the perpetrators are in transit
• UNCLOS defines it as ―peaceful use of sea and ―peaceful
purpose
• two principal dimensions of maritime security—intrinsic
and extrinsic

5. 3. Strategic Importance of the Indian
Ocean, Piracy and Maritime Terrorism
• sea-lane security is very important to the national economies of
Indian Ocean littoral countries for their industrial and commercial
sectors
• conflicts and competition in the region by various actors because:
• “the western extremity is outlined from the Atlantic Ocean in two
places—at the Suez Canal, and at the meridian running south from
Cape Agulhas in South Africa. At its easternmost extremity, it
touches the Pacific Ocean at the 147°E meridian, running south
from South East Cape on Tasmania to 60°S latitude.”
• The importance of oil and gas as central to the economic growth
and development of the contemporary world and energy security?
• Iran-Iraq War, (from 1980 to 1988)
• the strait of Hormuz was at the centre of a tense standoff between
Iran and the West
• Emerging economies like India and China

6. Source: http://www.tamilnation.co/intframe/indian_ocean/

7. • Gulf of Aden, Horn of Africa and Strait of Malacca.
• “Majority of piracy attacks in the world are concentrated in
the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden” the International
Maritime Bureau (IMB)
• piracy and armed robbery at sea, specifically the hijacking
of merchant vessels
• Piracy Attack Groups (PAGs) are increasingly well armed,
highly motivated by the prospect of very large ransom
payments (average payment is currently $5.4 million)
• the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in south Asia
• The piracy in the African coast or the Malacca Strait get
rooted because of weak authority and heavy traffic
• economic terrorism

9. 4. Responses to the Challenges
• Effective maritime governance,
• real time intelligence sharing,
• maritime domain awareness,
• soft power geopolitics and
• regional integration
• maritime security mechanisms within organizations
such as the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC), AU, and others
• Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation
(IORARC) came into being in March 1997
• the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) initiative
• The ‗Milan‘ series

10. 5. Conclusion
• the best way to combat piracy and maritime
terrorism in the region is to increase maritime co-
operation among navies of littoral states providing
an open and inclusive forum for discussion of
regionally relevant maritime issues
• flow of information between naval professionals
resulting in common understanding and
agreements
• various fora, initiatives and mechanisms within
regional organizations