S'pore in anti-piracy plan
It's part of international group pledging to tackle threat off Somalia
UNITED NATIONS - THE United States and four other nations, including Singapore, have signed onto an international plan to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia, committing to playing a leadership role in protecting one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
The move came as the US government warned mariners on Tuesday to expect an increase in piracy off the Horn of Africa and in the Indian Ocean due to the end of the monsoon season and counselled seamen to be prepared to defend their vessels against maritime hijackers.
The so-called 'New York Declaration' - signed on Wednesday by US Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo and her counterparts from Britain, Cyprus, Japan and Singapore - is an attempt to pool resources and agree on the best ways of deterring the Somali pirates who prey on vessels sailing between Europe and Asia.
'We realise that the fight against piracy in the Horn of Africa region cannot be solved entirely at sea,' Ms DiCarlo said.
Other needed measures, she said, involve nations adopting legal mechanisms to prosecute suspected pirates and Somalia improving its capacity to police its own territory.
A spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Straits Times that signing the declaration was part of Singapore's 'strong commitment - as both a responsible maritime nation and a major ship registry - to the international community's efforts to combat piracy'.
Though it is a non-binding political document, proponents say it will commit ship registry nations to adopt 'best management practices' for ship security such as increased lookouts, raised ladders and emergency fire pumps readied to repel boarders.
It was first proposed in May by Panama, the Bahamas, Liberia and the Marshall Islands, four of the world's biggest ship registries. Those nations signed the declaration previously.
In Washington, Mr Andrew Shapiro, US Assistant Secretary of State for political-military affairs, told the ComDef 2009 defence policy conference on Wednesday that the document represents what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called 'a 21st century solution to the 17th century problem' of piracy.
By signing, the US says the Coast Guard and US shipping companies will continue adopting measures that comply with the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code to protect themselves against piracy.
Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.
The Straits Times
Associated Press
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