Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) With incidents of piracy on the rise in the Indian Ocean region, India Monday stressed the need for an international cooperative effort to contain the sea brigands.

Defence Minister A.K. Antony made the call at a National Maritime Foundation (NMF) event here on the Indian Ocean region’s security, where he also pointed out that the challenge of piracy is yet to be “effectively quarantined”.

“Piracy cases are continuing at an alarming rate. Clearly, the challenge of piracy is yet to be effectively quarantined. If ever there was a need for consensual and cooperative effort, it is in relation to piracy,” Antony said, inaugurating the two-day event.

Noting that India has already put forward certain proposals before the United Nations — such as an international naval force on the lines of peace-keeping troops — to fight pirates, the minister said there is a consensus that while the pirates can be neutralised at sea, the real solution lies in addressing the root causes, which are complex and are actually located on land.

“Speaking of the cooperative effort that we seek to strengthen in the Indian Ocean region - it is a matter of great satisfaction for India that the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard have been contributing to the ‘common good’ as it were - and to the collective security efforts” he said.

Since Indian Navy joined the anti-piracy effort in October 2008, the total number of merchant ships it escorted — nearly 2,000 — has increased steadily, with over 85 per cent of the ships escorted flying a foreign flag.

Antony said that taking into account the challenges posed by extremist ideologies, terrorism support and the scourge of the non-state entities, the assessments on piracy needed to be objective and candid for solutions to be effective.