With China watching, India & Seychelles to up anti-pirate operations

[Ganges Zephyr]

NEW DELHI: Amid China's increased foray into the picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago nation, Seychelles has assured India that it remains its key developmental partner and sought to to intensify bilateral anti-piracy cooperation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held talks Thursday with Seychelles President James Alix Michel, who is here for the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, that focused on security issues, piracy and ways to expand developmental cooperation between the two countries.

"Both leaders reaffirmed their close and abiding relationship and India was acknowledged as the main development partner for the Seychelles," the external affairs ministry said here Thursday.

"The two leaders also discussed issues relating to piracy and its consequent impact on security, tourism and fisheries," the ministry said.

Michel expressed his gratitude for India's support for Seychelles development and in the fight against piracy.

"Both sides agreed to continue their close cooperation and keep abreast of new developments in the region," said the ministry.

Michel is understood to have briefed Manmohan Singh about new developments, including the context in which Seychelles last year offered China its harbour for use to refuel and stocking of Chinese warships stationed in the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations.

This set the alarm bells ringing in New Delhi, but Beijing later clarified that it will not be a military base, but just a refuelling and supply facility.

Defence cooperation between India and Seychelles, the strategically-located island state, has been growing.

Last year, the Indian Navy deployed a Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft in the Seychelles for conducting anti-piracy operations in the Indian Ocean Region. The aircraft, stationed at Seychelles' capital Victoria, would be operated by a Indian Navy crew on anti-piracy patrol duties in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Seychelles was one of the nations that joined the ambitious Pan African e-Network Project in its first phase, inaugurated in February 2009. The project seeks to bridge the digital divide in the 54-nation continent and bring tele-medicine and tele-education to Africans.

With China watching, India & Seychelles to up anti-pirate operations - The Times of India

 

[LURKER]

"China Watching" in the headline was not needed.....TOI as usual

 

[pmukherjee]

Not just TOI, most journalists in India are sensationalist a@@holes. Even a kid with basic knowledge of geography knows that Seychelles is the best offshore location to keep an eye on the Somalian coastline. Therefore, anyone with an interest in the Somalian coastline in particular or western Indian Ocean in general will also be interested in Seychelles. India and China are only two of many such nations.

 

[illuminatidinesh]

Amid growing cooperation among the two Navy over the piracy control these kind of topic do irk us....

 

[T90TankGuy]

piracy is a growing menace , it has reached alarming proportions . but with the combined naval forces of 30 countries , we are still not able to find a lasting solution.

 

[pmukherjee]

piracy is a growing menace , it has reached alarming proportions . but with the combined naval forces of 30 countries , we are still not able to find a lasting solution.

Yes, you are correct, but the primary reason for the failure of all this combined naval effort is the total lack of political will to resolve the piracy issue by the governments that send these very same navies.

India finds it difficult to pay for the oil it buys from Iran as do most other nations buying Iranian oil because of concerted international efforts led by USA to block the banking channels used for the transfer of this payment. How is it then that tens of millions of dollars get transferred to the pirate masterminds as ransom regularly using international banking channels?

The fact is that there is no serious will to tackle piracy. All this naval activity is simply used by respective governments to convince their ignorant citizens that they are really fighting piracy. Small successes are highlighted while major failures are swept under the carpet. Everyone profits from piracy. The insurance companies charge huge premiums, the sailors demand high salaries, the pirates have a ball. All the additional expenditure is passed onto the consumer who has to bite the bullet.

The military option is never the lasting or the final solution. It works only in combination with other measures.

 

[Tshering22]

What would a DO-228 do!? Buzz the pirates to surrender!? Or is this some special variant with machine guns attached?

We should have deployed the HAL Rudra or at least an armed variant that can actually do some damage.

---------- Post added at 10:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------

piracy is a growing menace , it has reached alarming proportions . but with the combined naval forces of 30 countries , we are still not able to find a lasting solution.

Because of roadblocks created by "Human Rights" terrorist supporting organizations. They want the pirates to be lorded and spoilt because it is their "human right". The quickest solution to piracy would be to follow what Russia does; shoot all arrested pirates with their own weapons.