Newsletter No. 1186
News-Analysis
October 30, 2008

 

KEIKO AKABANE NOT DOING WELL IN SOMALI CAPTIVITY

Keiko Akabane, the doctor who was kidnapped last month by an armed Somali group while working in Ethiopia, said in a telephone interview with Japan’s TV Asahi that she wants to come home to Japan, and she suggested that her physical and mental condition is deteriorating. Akabane was quoted by AFP as saying:

I have been having a hard time in the month since I came to Somalia. I am totally uncertain about whether I can go back. I am thinking about many things every day and spending sleepless days… They give me meals and I eat them. But I think I am considerably thinner. Mentally, I have felt down at times, but I am holding up through hope.

Asked what she wanted the most, she replied: “To be honest, I want to go back to Japan.” The most ominous passage of the AFP account was the following:

When she was asked if she had been harmed or threatened, she did not reply directly, saying only that the kidnappers were forcing her to answer the question in English.

Like a good Japanese, she also apologized for “causing trouble” for her family, her employer, and her country. By most nations’ standards, we haven’t yet heard any reason why she should be apologetic. As far as we know, she was only doing her job in Ethiopia when the kidnapping occurred.

YOMIURI SHINBUN CONTINUES ITS ATTACK ON SOMALI PIRATES

When the Yomiuri conservatives think that they have an angle, they just bang and bang and bang on that drum. We have already introduced several Yomiuri pieces on Somali piracy, but they just keep on publishing more and more articles making the same points. Most of these articles are being written by Yomiuri Senior Writer Hidemichi Katsumata.

Why is the Yomiuri so interested in the piracy issue? First of all, they are looking for political ammunition to assist their campaign to keep the MSDF in the Indian Ocean. Secondly, they see the anti-piracy issue as a way to raise Japan’s profile in the never-ending quest to be seen making “international contributions.”

Incidentally, in late May during one of my trips to Tokyo, I attended a lecture about the expanding capabilities of the MSDF given by a foreign scholar. This fellow was clearly a real Navy Buff. He showed pictures of the latest Japanese battleships, and he was particularly keen on the new Hyuga-class light aircraft carrier (called a “helicopter destroyer” in a lame legal attempt to pretend that it is not an aircraft carrier and an offensive weapon -- You’ll note that Yukio Okamoto mentioned this ship too in his latest commentary). Anyway, the lecturer in Tokyo explained that the latest MSDF hardware is geared toward “expeditionary warfare,” which he explained -- with no trace of embarrassment -- as being the 21st century equivalent of European colonial campaigns to police the natives whenever they got too uppity.

Point is, the MSDF has been building ships that are basically designed for expeditions against enemies like the Somali pirates for many years. Once they can overcome the final legal restraints and gain sufficient public tolerance, then they are ready to go in terms of military capability. The Yomiuri propaganda campaign should be viewed in this context.

Japan Must Help Battle Piracy
By Hidemichi Katsumata
Yomiuri Shinbun
October 6, 2008

The frequency of pirate attacks on commercial vessels continues to increase off the coast of Somalia, with more than 20 such incidents in the past two months. The attacks by armed raiders have prompted many countries to take steps such as dispatching warships to the affected waters. Japan, however, has yet to show any signs of addressing the problem.

With a view to eradicating piracy in the waters around Somalia, in the Horn of Africa region, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in June calling for member countries to take decisive measures, including the use of force, against pirates. Despite the UNSC resolution, there have been 20 major incidents of piracy off Somalia in the past 10 weeks. Three merchant ships operated by Japanese shipping companies, including a Japanese-flagged vessel, were affected in these incidents. Crew members of vessels hijacked by pirates are often held for exorbitant ransoms. In the case of the hijacking of the Stella Maris, a Japanese-owned vessel seized on July 20, the pirates reportedly demanded a ransom of 3.5 million dollars (about 370 million yen). And ransom demands have been rising sharply, according to shipping industry sources.

France, however, recently deployed a special naval squadron to the waters off Somalia and succeeded in rescuing French nationals from pirates.

The multilateral forces' Combined Joint Task Force, which currently is engaged in antiterrorist activities in the Indian Ocean, has designated the Gulf of Aden off Somalia's north coast as an anti-pirate maritime reconnaissance and patrol area. With this designation, the CJTF, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Pakistan and the United States, has boosted protection for merchant ships. In addition, Canada has dispatched warships to the pirate-infested waters to escort boats carrying U.N. World Food Program goods destined for refugees in Somalia and other countries. Countries such as Denmark, Malaysia and Russia that have fallen prey to piracy, also have sent naval ships to the affected waters to carry out patrols and conduct surveillance activities.

Germany, which has rigid statutory constraints regarding the use of force, has sent P-3C patrol aircraft to U.S. bases in Somalia's neighbor, Djibouti, and currently is preparing to dispatch three warships to the area. The German Shipowners' Association has been pressing the government to allow the German Navy to use force against the pirates.

Compared with measures such as these, Japan's apparent unwillingness to address the pirate problem is peculiarly conspicuous. The Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission under the new Antiterrorism Law in support of antiterrorist activities in the Indian Ocean might end with the law's expiration on Jan. 15, as the Democratic Party of Japan has opposed extending the law, arguing that the refueling activities "violate the Constitution."

Politicians, regardless of party affiliation, should accept that the multilateral naval forces engaged in antiterrorist activities in the Indian Ocean are also involved in the task of combating pirates.

In April, the Takayama, a large oil tanker belong to Nippon Yusen, a major Japanese shipping firm, was hit by pirate gunfire off the eastern coast of Yemen. When the Takayama sent out distress signals, the Emden, a German frigate belonging to the CJTF rushed to the scene and successfully drove off the pirates. The Emden had earlier been refueled by an MSDF vessel. Similarly, when the Aizu, a cargo ship managed by a Japanese shipping company, was fired on by a pirates off Somalia in August, a helicopter from the CJTF came to its rescue.

The waters in and around the coast of Somalia, in particular the Gulf of Aden, serve as a key marine crossroads connecting Europe with Asia via the Suez Canal. This maritime artery is busy, with more than 20,000 vessels using it every year. For this country, which depends on imports of natural resources such as oil, iron ore and foodstuffs, the safety of sea trade routes transcends all else in terms of importance. While it is natural that the nation should continue its oil-refueling activities beyond January, politicians should seriously consider how to tackle maritime safety and eliminate piracy.

Government Must Tackle Rampant Piracy Off Somalia
By Hidemichi Katsumata and Yoko Inoue
Yomiuri Shinbun
October 23, 2008

To cope with rampant pirate attacks in the waters off the Somali coast, the government is looking into the possibility of sending the Maritime Self-Defense Force there. Shipping companies, for their part, have been taking measures to deal with pirates, but feel powerless as piracy has escalated to the hijacking of ships and kidnapping of crew for ransom.

Alerted by an increasing number of acts of piracy involving ships owned or operated by Japanese shipping companies, the Japanese Shipowners' Association (JSA) asked the government to strengthen its efforts to crackdown on pirates in cooperation with other countries that have launched such operations. "In September alone, 26 Japanese ships -- including foreign ships operated by Japanese companies -- were attacked by pirates," a petition filed by the JSA with the Construction and Transport Ministry said. "There is a limit to what can be done by the private sector to deal with armed pirates." Hiroyuki Maekawa, president of the 109-member JSA, visited Construction and Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Kaneko on Oct. 10 to directly deliver the petition. "I desperately wanted to meet the minister in person to convey our sense of concern," Maekawa said.

The waters off Somalia are a trunk sea route linking Asia and Europe via the Suez Canal. About 20,000 vessels navigate the route each year. Of these, more than 2,000 are owned or operated by Japanese shipping firms. The Gulf of Aden, where piracy is rampant, stretches about 1,800 kilometers from east to west. The gulf takes about two days for a merchant ship to navigate. More than 10 Japanese vessels are usually cruising through the gulf at any given time. Pirate attacks on merchant vessels such as freighters and tankers have increased remarkably since January. From January to September, 79 vessels were attacked by pirates, according to the JSA. Of these, 22 ships were hijacked and their crew members were held for ransom. In addition, seven foreign-owned vessels operated by domestic shipping companies were attacked, and two of them seized, the JSA said.

Pirates are believed to be providing funds for armed Islamic insurgents linked with international terrorist organization Al-Qaida. They load small high-speed vessels and fishing boats into a midsize freighter used as a mother ship and wait to attack. When a merchant ship approaches, they drive the smaller boats alongside the ship and attack it with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, forcing it to stop. In some cases, crew members have been killed and injured in the attacks. Pirates often hijack merchant ships, kidnap crew members and detain them at ports or other locations along the Somali coast until ransom of hundreds of millions or billions of yen are paid. Currently, about 10 vessels and freighters from various countries and about 150 crew members are under the control of pirates in this area.

United Front against Pirates

Somalia's civil war has created a failed state where piracy is rampant. Given the situation, victimized countries do not want to sit back and wait to see what will happen. Since June, when the United Nations adopted its first resolution cracking down on piracy, the Combined Joint Task Force -- represented through antiterrorism operations in the Indian Ocean by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Pakistan -- also has patrolled the Gulf of Aden to strengthen merchant ship protection there. But even ships navigating through patrolled waters have been attacked and hijacked.

Given this, Yemen, located on the opposite coast of the Gulf of Aden from Somalia, and Denmark, Malaysia, Germany and Russia, whose vessels also have been attacked by pirates, have been dispatching warships and aircraft to protect their merchant ships by patrolling the dangerous waters. The commander of the 5th U.S. Fleet, Vice Adm. William Gortney, pointed out the difficulty of conducting around-the-clock protection of the several hundred merchant ships navigating the pirate-infested waters each day. The U.N. Security Council on Oct. 7 adopted Resolution 1838, a resolution on piracy that was drafted by the European Union and proposed jointly by Japan and other countries. Based on the resolution, the EU is scheduled to form a fleet of warships to launch anti-piracy operations.

The MSDF has been engaged in refueling activities for Combined Joint Task Force vessels active in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. Prime Minister Taro Aso instructed the Liberal Democratic Party to study concrete protection measures for Japanese merchant ships navigating in waters off the coast of Somalia, saying the EU is tackling the issue in earnest in line with the U.N. resolution. Guarding merchant ships through the deployment of destroyers and offshore patrols by a P-3C reconnaissance plane are two measures Japan could take to combat the threat. Deterred by their size and firepower, pirates have rarely attacked warships. But Japan has no law justifying an attack by its naval forces on pirates in defense of merchant ships from other countries.

A Defense Ministry official has recommended dispatching a P-3C reconnaissance plane instead of a destroyer, arguing it will be easier to make legal arrangements to dispatch the plane. The plane's mission would be to collect security information to be used by foreign warships and merchant vessels navigating the dangerous waters.

Merchant vessels must navigate dangerous waters off Somalia despite the potential for a sudden pirate attack. The government should devise countermeasures against piracy while coordinating its position with other countries involved in anti-piracy operations.