Newsletter No. 1141
News-Analysis
September 16, 2008

 

YEMEN AND ANTI-PIRACY STRATEGY

Short news items in the Yemeni press give us an important hint that Tokyo is trying something new in order to protect its shipping in the seas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab.

Japanese Ambassador Masakazu Toshikage recently told Minister of Transport Khalid Ibrahim al-Wazeer that Japan is considering giving support to Yemen in order to train its coast guard. He also mooted the possibility of establishing a regional center for combating maritime piracy. Both sides were reportedly enthusiastic about the notion. Futhermore, it seems that an important meeting on this topic was held in Sanaa on September 10th hosted by Deputy Prime Minister for Security and Defense Affairs Rashad al-Alimi. The ambassadors of the US, EC, Malaysia, and Japan were on hand as Al-Alimi briefed them on what Yemen was trying to do in order to combat piracy. It was probably as a result of the meeting that Tokyo is now thinking about what it can do.

I invite you to read Tai Wei Lim’s paper on piracy in the Malacca Straits in SEJJIR Volume Four. It seems apparent that what is happening is that Tokyo wants to establish another institution like the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) in Yemen in order to combat piracy along the Somali coast. Recall also the attack on the Takayama off the Yemeni coast this past April (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 986).

Back in May, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda sent a letter to President Ali Abdullah Salih thanking him doing its utmost to release the two Japanese tourists (Shingetsu Newsletter No. 1008) as well as providing support for the Japanese tankers attacked by Somali pirates off the Yemeni coasts.

DEBT RELIEF

I’m not exactly sure how large Yemen’s financial debts to Japan are, but there have been a number of recent stories about debt relief. In early July, Ambassador Toshikage announced in Sanaa that about US$17 million had just been cancelled. Toshikage was meeting at that time with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul Karim al-Arhabi together with a JBIC mission to the country. Earlier this month, another story said that notes had been signed for the cancellation of US$16.8 million. Since this figure is so similar, it seems likely that the July announcement and the new announcement are talking about the same package, and not two different packages of debt relief.

RECENT AID

Agricultural Aid: In late August, Yemen and Japan signed on Thursday a detailed memorandum regarding a new annual grant to support small farmers in Yemen. The memorandum provided for the purchase of agricultural equipment to be distributed to farmers in the targeted regions to support them in increasing agricultural production and improving their living conditions. The value of the aid package wasn’t provided by the press. However, it was announced just yesterday that US$4 million would be provided in order to purchase 250 tractors.

Dammar Water: In mid-August, Tokyo provided the Dammar Governorate with about US$134,000 to improve the water supply system in al-Kainaei area. It was estimated that around 3,000 people from the Manar district would benefit. The aid aimed to provide the area’s inhabitants with safe drinking water and to alleviate the inconvenience of having to fetch water from remote wells.

Non-Project Aid: In mid-June, Tokyo provided Yemen with almost US$4 million in non-project aid. Presumably, this package allowed the Yemeni government more of a free hand in deciding how the money would be spent.

Blind Society: In early July, Tokyo granted aid to the Yemeni Society to Protect and Rehabilitate the Blind. It was not clear from the report the value of this aid package.

School Building: In May, Tokyo provided about US$7 million in aid for the Project for the Construction of School Facilities of Basic Education in Sanaa.

ADDENDUM
September 17, 2008

A knowledgeable source contacted us this morning and drew our attention to additional information about Yemen’s new bid to play a key role in anti-piracy efforts.

Yemen will host the second regional meeting on combating piracy which to be held from October 27th to 30th with the participation of representatives of twenty countries. These twenty countries are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to combat piracy and armed robbery against ships sailing in the Gulf of Aden.

Additionally, the Yemeni Transportation Ministry has announced that they will set up three centers for monitoring the international waters in the Gulf of Aden. A source in the ministry stated: “The centers would be established in the port cities of Aden and Mukalla on the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea port of Hodeida.”

Beyond this, Yemen has already deployed about one thousand soldiers and sixteen military boats to ward off piracy in its regional waters in the Gulf of Aden and near the Bab al-Mandab. These forces are receiving training and, we presume, new equipment that should make them increasingly effective in the coming months.