Five Point Plan

The UN Security Council is reviewing a proposal from India for a UN-led naval operation to contain Somali pirates. There are also plans for a “sanitisation” of Somalia’s coastline through identified corridors and buffer zones and the tracking of fishing vessels around the coast.

The Indian government has also called for tracking of ransom money and the prosecution of beneficiaries for abetting piracy. The plans formed part of a fivepoint formula proposed at a UNSC meeting in New York. The issue of piracy is expected to be debated again later this month.

New Delhi further wants the affected nations to enact laws to criminalise piracy as defined in the “UN Convention on the Law of the Sea” and prosecute suspected pirates apprehended off the Somali coast.

Indian Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma termed the Somali pirates moving their activities closer to India a “disturbing trend”. The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard recently captured 15 Somali pirates 75 nautical miles off Lakshadweep and rescued over 20 Thai and Myanmarese fishermen from them. The pirates have been taken to Mumbai for interrogation by security officials, who are also probing possible terror links. They will be handed over to the Mumbai police on Wednesday.

According to the Navy, some piracy incidents happened closer to India last October and November. The Navy is planning larger deployment of forces along the coast. The navy has deployed 23 ships in the Gulf of Aden since October 2008.