By NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
Media outfits of India, without exception, have been showering accolades on the brave sailors of Indian Navy. Impressionable citizens are enjoying another bout of euphoria. India has `arrived' as a premier naval power. It is flexing muscles for the cause of "global welfare" by fighting to eradicate the scourge of high seas piracy!
For a people looking for some avenue to `feel high' amidst stark realities of utter chaos and misery, it has come as sunshine. A scan of reports emanating from outside India, however, raises some disturbing questions. The Indian Navy's `feat' of sinking a vessel on Nov 19 off Somalia may turn out to be unwise adventurism. Far from what the establishment makes it out to be, it may have put India in the horns of a dilemma.
Shorn of all patriotic adulation that the Indian media often employs to be on the `right side' of the establishment, there is not much to write home about. The `action' seen by Indian Navy after a long interlude of 37 years since the Bangladesh war has been reported as under:
Commander Nirad Sinha "claimed" in a briefing: "INS Tabar encountered a pirate vessel south west of Oman with two speedboats in tow. This vessel was similar in description to the 'mother vessel' mentioned in various piracy bulletins. INS Tabar closed in on the vessel and asked her to stop for investigation. Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of the vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers. The vessel continued threatening calls and subsequently fired upon INS Tabar."
It was later clarified that the crew of INS Tabar "REQUESTED that the pirate vessel stop to allow a search" but its crew responded with a "threat to sink her if she came any closer." Tabar fired on the crew, which the Navy described as "retaliatory strike". Even before being fired at, Tabar "defended herself by firing back" and a large explosion occurred on the "pirate vessel".
The Navy speculated that the explosion may have been caused by the "weapons cache of the pirates" but refrained from disclosing its logic in assuming vessel to be of pirates. The attack continued for about three to four more hours and resulted in the sinking of what was claimed to be the pirate's "mother ship". INS Tabar also forced the abandonment of another vessel from which "pirates" managed to "escape via a speedboat under the cover of darkness."
These claims are taken with a pinch of salt by independent analysts, in the context of allegations of "fake encounters" enacted by the cops and officers of the armed forces within the territory. The government has had to refer several incidents, after concerted public outcry at attempts at suppressing them, to courts for transparent investigation. Quite a few of the `adventures' turned out as stage-managed encounters, done in the quest for being decorated, awarded and rewarded with promotions. Also, most passengers in crowded trains have experienced anarchic behaviour of soldiers, moving in groups, towards the common public.
MK Bhadrakumar, a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is among the very few knowledgeable Indians who refused to be overwhelmed by high-pressure propaganda. He has worked on assignments in the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey and is too rational to buy foreign ministry-speak at face value, unlike typical `intellectuals' of the country, ready to become `proud' at the drop of a hat.
While terming the reports as nothing more than a "carefully worded navy statement", he has drawn attention to some facts. These have been conveniently buried under the carpet to drum up euphoria. Firstly, warships from at least nine countries are currently patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. Next, there is no vessel class called "mother ship". Pirates use high speed gunboats to overtake and board their targets and use any vessel – maybe their own fishing boats or a captured ship – to base these gunboats in.
Under UN Security Council resolution 1816, passed in June, only States co-operating with Somalia's transitional government are permitted, for a period of six months, to enter its territorial waters to repress acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Only these "international forces" are allowed to use "all necessary means in a manner consistent with relevant provisions of international law." Even they are not supposed to lord over the territory, sinking vessels that refuse to `obey' them. Moreover, there are serious differences on the composition of the `transitional government' itself.
INS Tabar (the word roughly translates to a primitive axe) is a stealth frigate with an arsenal of Barak missiles. It is of the class to be armed with BrahMos supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles. Only on October 23 did India mark its presence, with this frigate, alongside Russia, Spain, France, South Korea, the US, and NATO. The four-ship contingent of NATO is meant to escort vessels chartered by the World Food Program to Somali ports under UN mandate. Greek and an Italian warships too escort cargo ships chartered by the UN. They conduct `deterrence' patrols along with Turkish and British frigates in the Gulf of Aden. The Fifth Fleet of the US, based in Bahrain, is for policing the coast to secure oil assets of its companies, with several ships stationed in the region,. The US-led Combined Task Force-150 has Pakistan taking part. India is not a part of this initiative.
The Navy claims that INS Tabar has escorted 35 ships safely through the "pirate-infested waters." The Indian government is talking of despatching guided-missile destroyer INS Mysore to the region, in replacement of INS Tabar. Significantly, none of the other warships in the scene, far more powerful than the frigate, have claimed credit for deliberately sinking a vessel so far. This month, warships from Europe did engage in a firefight, but that was AFTER pirates attempted to hijack a Danish ship.
Piracy on the high seas is a stark fact of world trade since ages. Sailors take it as a calculated risk as a payoff for providing good life to themselves and their kin. It is true that incidences in the Gulf of Aden have seen a spike in recent times. But, the fall out of piracy there on India's basic interests has been overstated out of all proportion.
To anyone not directly involved in the shipping industry, the main effect of increase in pirate attack is limited to marginal increase in prices of imported items. Insurance companies suffer big losses but their business is to cover losses. They recoup the losses by increasing premium they charge to shippers. Shipping companies pass on their increased costs – ransoms (if not covered by insurance), extra fuel for longer routes as well as higher insurance premiums—by hiking freight charges. Eventually the hikes find their way onto the high street and the consumer pays up.
International Maritime Organisation chief, Efthimios Mitropoulos, has spoken of "a series of negative repercussions" if ships had to reroute away from Aden. Going around the Cape of Good Hope adds about 12 days to a typical Gulf-to-Europe voyage, delaying oil supplies, and potentially raising freight rates by 25-30 per cent. But, it should be noted that freight and insurance are small elements in the total cost of imported goods.
Pirates needs to be tackled with a lot of tact, similar to that in providing security in banks on-land. Precipitate actions on high seas can be compared with a hot-headed adventurist trying to foil a bank robbery `bravely', putting the lives and properties of others in peril. Even the top brass and authorised armed guards are required to follow laid down rules and procedures in case of heist attempts. Civilised societies severely punish any violation of norms. That is what distinguishes civilised entities from pirates! Moreover, deliberate sinking of a vessel, that could well be carrying toxic cargo, could trigger a catastrophe.
Piracy is estimated to have cost the world an estimated $60-70m this year. This hardly justifies any hot-headed action on the part of nation states, at the grave risk of violating rights of citizens of other nations. It is of note that Saudi Arabia's foreign minister declared that his government will not negotiate with pirates who seized the largest supertanker carrying Saudi crude. He added that what the ship's owners did was up to them. Even in the case of MV Stolt Valor (A handsome random was paid to get its crew, including 18 Indians, released after two months.), it was a tangle between the pirates, ship owners and the crew. The governments of Japan or India did not have any role to play, despite all the public outcry.
Subsequent to the dramatic `action' by Indian Navy, a number of media reports were planted to claim it has been `welcomed' by the international authorities. Critical examination of the `approvals' and their origin would bring out reality. London-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB) did indeed welcome deployment of more Indian warships in the region and hailed the "action that the Indian Navy has taken." What IMB's manager Cyrus Mody added was conveniently ignored. "You don't need to blow the pirate ships out of water. You confiscate their boats and their arms. You disrupt their working. . . You go to them (mother ships), board them if they allow you. You act on suspicion, and confirm your suspicion, THEN take appropriate action."
he earlier incident reported by INS Tabar did conform to this legitimacy. Upon receipt of an SOS from Saudi Arabia-registered merchant vessel "MV Timaha" helicopter-borne commandoes of Indian Navy opened fire on pirates making repeated attempts to board her. When this was going on, the Navy claimed, a second group tried to board a 38,000-tonne bulk carrier owned by India's Great Eastern Shipping Co but did not put up a fight.
Shipping behemoths are aware of the high stakes they have in avoiding precipitate actions. International Association of Independent Tanker Owners too has appealed, "We need immediate action from governments to protect these vital trade lanes – robust action in the form of greater naval and military support." But, acting in concert with an appropriated authority, rather than haphazardly and arbitrarily.
It is now conceded that the problem with Somalia is not with piracy basically, but in robbing its people of their livelihoods. According to Katie Stuhldrehe, an expert in the matter, dense traffic by hundreds of ships rushing through the narrow lane leave a legacy of toxic wastes and oil slicks. While being of no benefit to the population, frequent breakup of huge vessels in accidents, as well as deliberate discharge of highly toxic waste cause untold damage to the coastal environment. Shipping tycoons did not care to control it, as a result of which fishing has been ruined. It was already under squeeze due to the presence of huge fishing trawlers.
Rather than solving the problem justly, aspiring naval powers flexed their muscle in the past, like the Indian frigate has done now. The anarchy in Somalia is due to such blatant aggressions, committed in narrow interests of these powers. It was compounded by big-brotherly attitude of Ethiopia. "Making the coastal areas lucrative for local fishermen again could encourage pirates to return to legitimate livelihoods," Stuhldrehe has concluded. She has warned that as long as Somalia continues to exist without an effective government, lawlessness within the country and off its lengthy coast will only grow.
Experts in shipping, insurance, geopolitics and environment are working hard to find a holistic solution. It is not going to be cakewalk as any flash-in-the-pan type solution may end up creating far more serious problems. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) too has realized the need: "Coordinated and cohesive response at the international level is necessary for the safety and well-being of seafarers and for seamless delivery of humanitarian aid to Somalia."
The volume of India's international trade being less than 1 per cent of global trade, nobody is going to fault the country for not participating in any policing effort in high seas. The country is miserably short of resources to put together a decent naval presence in its own territorial waters to prevent poaching by big-time trawlers, depriving fishermen using primitive gear. There is no coast guard set up worth the name to protect beaches from pollution and smuggling.
Also, the country is groping with enough problems stemming from deprivation of the masses and loss of livelihoods, leading to uprisings in every region. In the circumstances, wisdom lies in making only the contributions as called upon by the UN, rather than trying to upstage others.
Of course, occasional fireworks help stoking the ego of `educated' ones, mainly from the higher strata of society. Inheriting a comfortable living without having to work hard and without having to support kin, this section prefers to never look beyond what sycophants feed them, fearing the starkness of reality. Fishing in troubled waters, which the foreign affairs pundits of New Delhi have a habit of practicing – for the benefit of this constituency – has only masked, rather than addressed the issues.
If the establishment continues to serve a limited constituency and be incapable of tackling internal conflicts fairly, India may perhaps be gradually inching in the direction of current-day Somalia. Moreover, cheerleaders of the muscle-flexing overseas must realize that loyalty lies not in the unquestioned lauding of questionable actions. The contagion could rapidly spread to the other arms and erode the basic fabric of society. New Delhi has only to look in the neighbourhood for examples of where such perverted patriotism has led them to.
The Indian establishment has the habit of crushing dissent against injustice in different locations by employing brute force and deadly weapons. Whole communities have been demonized as terrorists, denying them due process of law. Is New Delhi trying to extend the tactics adopted within its territory in the name of fighting terrorism to international waters in the name of fighting piracy? Such Machiavellian tactics need to be probed before it becomes too late.
PS: Reparations to ASEAN crew of the Thai trawler sunk by half wits may work out more than the ransom paid by the Japanese company for MV Stolt Valor. Babus in New Delhi will add their own margins to the sums for covering up what is admitted as "unfortunate tragedy". One question to all these perverted patriots speaking for immature sailors assuming themselves to be British Navy! (It wisely and deliberately advised the trawler owner to bide time): Are they prepared to get job as port workers, rather than in cushy desks and parental gadhis and contribute a percentage of hard-earned wages to make up the money? No, it will only be squeezed out from poor citizens!
copyright : NM Sampathkumar Iyangar
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