India consults neighbours for road map to curb piracy

New Delhi, November 21: After cracking down decisively on pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden, India is looking at taking a leading role to make the waters safe for international merchant traffic. As a first step, it has called upon all Indian Ocean Region countries to come together to draw a roadmap to curb piracy.

Sources said the Navy had started informal communication with defence attaches of all IOR countries to work out a concept note for cracking down on piracy. The Navy is trying to build on synergy from the Indian Ocean Region Naval Symposium (IONS) that took place in New Delhi earlier this year.

“We have started interactions with the DA’s of all countries that took part in IONS. The vibes are very positive and will show us the way ahead and a whole lot of options may evolve out of this dialogue,” a senior Naval officer said.

This comes even as the Somalia Government has written to the United Nations saying that warships of foreign navies can enter its territorial waters to curb piracy. India too has been informed by the United Nations that it has the right of hot pursuit to take on pirates in Somalian waters.

India has already emphasised that a collaborative effort is required to take on piracy in the Gulf of Aden and no single navy can take the responsibility for the entire region. It has also called for a joint task force under the United Nations banner to carry out coordinated patrolling in the region.

“While the UN process will take its own time, informal interactions have started with IONS countries as it makes sense to get a feel of what countries in the region feel and how they can contribute,” the officer said.

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