January 2009 – The Somali Piracy Records. VII

The controversial role of the MV FAINA ship owner, the involvement of a Somali broker, the difficult conditions onboard for the crew, and the latest news about the international fleet around the Horn of Africa are to be found in the Ecoterra 116th Press Release Update.

116th Update 2009-01-22 18h05:23 UTC

Ecoterra Intl. - Stay Calm & Solve it Peaceful & Fast !

Ecoterra International – Update & Media Release on the stand-off concerning the Ukrainian weapons-ship hi-jacked by Somali pirates and related news.

We also can make sea-piracy in Somalia an issue of the past - with empathy and strength and through coastal and marine development as well as protection!

New EA Seafarers Assistance Programme Emergency Helpline: +254-738-497979
East African Seafarers Assistance Programme - Media Officer: +254-733-385868
EA Illegal Fishing and Dumping Hot line: +254-714-747090 (confidentiality guaranteed)

Day 120 - 2860 long hours into the MV FAINA Crisis - Update Summary

Efforts for a peaceful release continued, but the almost four months long stand-off concerning Ukrainian MV FAINA is not yet solved, though contacts and direct negotiations have now commenced.

The owner of the Ukrainian vessel FAINA, which is being held by Somali pirates, went to the media and has declared that he decided to increase the size of the ransom he is prepared to pay for the vessel's release, reports the Kijv Post. "Understanding the complexity of the situation, the ship owner is taking unprecedented steps now. He has decided again - and probably the last time - to increase the sum of the ransom in the hope that the pirates will also display elementary reasonableness", a press release posted on the Internet portal Sovfracht Maritime Bulletin says. "Naturally, the process of increasing the sum cannot last endlessly", the document says. The owner cited the UN Security Council resolution of December 16, 2008 and suggested that his "financial resources have their limits". "The ship owner has done everything to offer an acceptable sum of ransom, and it would be unrealistic and naive to hope that he will be able to satisfy the pirates' growing appetites", it said. The complexity of the situation is determined by the nature of the cargo on board the FAINA, it said. "This has drawn a lot of forces, both explicit ones and those concealed quite skillfully", it said, referring i. a. to the Union of Islamic Courts, who [according to the quoted press release of ] the owner says "are intervening in the exceptionally sensitive negotiating process". The pirates keep playing sophisticated combinations by regularly delegating negotiating powers to each other and increasing the size of the ransom each time, the press release says. "One could see at least one positive aspect in this: there are sober-minded people among the pirates, which gives grounds to hope that this dramatic story, of which everyone has long been sick and tired, will soon be resolved safely", the press release says. "The negotiations with the pirates on releasing the FAINA sailors are proceeding, although slowly and with unimaginable difficulties", the document says. With reporting lines: "It was reported earlier that pirates seized the Ukrainian vessel FAINA in neutral waters close to Kenya on September 25, 2008. The vessel, which was heading under the Belize flag to Kenya, was carrying weapons and military hardware, including about 30 Russian-made T-72 tanks. The FAINA crew comprised of 21 people, 17 of them being Ukrainian citizens, 3 citizens of Russia, and one citizen of Latvia. The vessel's Russian captain, Vladimir Kolobkov of Russia, died soon after the ship was hijacked", Kijv Post report closed.

Why the owner decided at this critical moment, when for the first time direct negotiations with all decision-makers on the Somali as well as on the owners side were achieved and established, to publish another round of propaganda, tries to leak one-sided information and attempted to categorize the captors, thereby trying to split them again, is not clear. But it is feared that the numerous provocations in his public statement released by Sovfract Magazine and reported also by Kijv Post on the internet, could lead to another breakdown. Somali observers believe that it could now even be assumed that the statement could have been intentionally launched by the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli side in order to create another stalemate, since it can hardly be imagined that the hostage negotiators on the side of the owner of the vessel could be so inexperienced and launch such a public affront - even going into political dimensions -, which is only antagonising and not assisting in the release-negotiations, if there would not be any ulterior motif. The captors of MV FAINA, are reportedly now upset, because the owner went to the media and still insists on the involvement of a Somali broker on his side in the decision making process, who had been refused by the captors since long. Some analysts believe that one of the core problems seems to be that the money collected by families and friends to help with the ransom could be eyed upon by people in- or outside the negotiation process for their own profit and therefore the owner/co-owner would insist on the involvement of Somali broker "Mahad" (Salad), who later could easily be turned into another scapegoat. But since owner and captors can now communicate directly it is now obvious that both sides should drop their intermediates and continue straight talks to actually achieve the release.

One further point is noteworthy, which shows a kind of "carrot & stick"- approach chosen by the owner in his press-statement, revealed in the sentence: The owner cited the UN Security Council resolution of December 16, 2008 and suggested that his "financial resources have their limits".

Those quoted as authors of this sentence must be reminded that the UN resolution 1851 provides a pitfall for those, who believe that the use of force had been permitted and would be legal. The resolution states clearly: Affirms that the authorization provided in this resolution apply only with respect to the situation in Somalia and shall not affect the rights or obligations or responsibilities of Member States under international law, including any rights or obligations under UNCLOS, with respect to any other situation, and underscores in particular that this resolution shall not be considered as establishing customary international law, and affirms further that such authorizations have been provided only following the receipt of the 9 December 2008 letter conveying the consent of the TFG.

The cited letter, however, is either a fabrication, illegal or at least referred to inappropriately, since any declaration to hand over or give up (parts or all) sovereignty of Somalia as a state would require according to the constitution and the charter of Somalia a supporting decision (ratification) by the Somali parliament. Such has never even been presented to parliament and was never voted on or consented to by the TFG parliament, stated all Somali MPs asked about this issue.

The use of force to free the ship in the case of MV FAINA, however, had already been ruled out by the governments of Russia, the Ukraine and the US of America.

It also has transpired now that the demand by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister for family members to be allowed to speak to the crew could easily be fulfilled by the captors of MV FAINA, if the owner of the vessel would not have disabled the Inmarsat phone on the bridge. If that line of communication is revived by the owner, observers believe the captors would allow family contacts, which also would be important to establish the true health situation of the crew-members.

There is no limit to what a person can do or how far one can go to help - if one doesn't mind who gets the credit!

The Somali as well as the Ukrainian/Russian/Israeli sides must come to terms now and set the innocent seafarers free with first priority! And in order to avoid the destruction of the vessel and its cargo by anybody as well as to avert the subsequent humanitarian, health and environmental horror-scenario, such can only be achieved together with the release of the ship, where also the body of deceased Capt. Vladimir Kolobkov is still kept.

The MV FAINA is one of at least 49 ships that pirates seized last year off the Horn of Africa during a surge in piracy driven in part by Somalia's growing poverty and instability. The multimillion dollar ransoms are believed by many to be one of the only ways to "make money" in the impoverished nation. But while the many cases of sea-jacked merchant vessels on innocent passage (sailing even outside the EEZ e.g. in the Indian Ocean) constitutes clear piracy, Somali actions against illegal fishing or against any transport of illegitimate or clandestine goods has a legal standing. Ecoterra advocates to end all destructive, detrimental, criminal and illegal activities in Somali waters.

Ecoterra Intl. demands immediate humanitarian assistance to be allowed, facilitated and dispatched to the vessel, and calls for human rights protection to be provided for all crew members, their families in Russia and Ukraine as well as for all well-meaning people assisting in solving the case, which have been subjected already to serious threats, acts of intimidation and persecution.

Ecoterra Intl. repeats its call to solve the FAINA case now with absolute top priority and peaceful in order to avert a human and environmental disasters at the Somali coast. Humanitarian assistance must be allowed by the captors and facilitated by the owners. Anybody encouraging hot-headed and concerning such difficult situations inexperienced and untrained gunmen or those, who believe they would be capable to try an attempt of a military solution, must be held fully responsible for the surely resulting disaster. The saga and secrecy surrounding MV FAINA must not - like in the MS ESTONIA case, which is the worst naval disaster in Europe since WWII - become the shroud for its 20 seafarers.

Clearing-house:

News from other abducted or newly attacked ships --------

Games Crazy People Play: Kidnapping, Pirating, and War - Naval War-games to protect Fish-piracy and to cover the real agenda

With the latest captures and releases now still at least 16 foreign vessels with a total of 273 crew members accounted for (of which 44 are Filipinos) are held in Somali waters and are monitored on our actual case-list, while several other cases of ships, which were observed off the coast of Somalia and have been reported or had reportedly disappeared without trace or information, are still being followed. Over 134 incidences (including attempted attacks, averted attacks and successful sea-jackings) have been recorded for 2008 with 49 fully documented, factual sea-jacking cases (incl. the presently held) and the mistaken sinking of one vessel by naval forces. For 2009 the account stands at 11 abandoned attacks and 2 sea-jackings on the Somali/Yemeni pirate side as well as one wrongful attack by friendly fire on the side of the naval forces. Mystery pirate mother-vessels Athena/Arena and Burum Ocean as well as not fully documented cases of absconded vessels are not listed in the sea-jack count until clarification. Several other vessels with unclear fate (also not in the actual count), who were reported missing over the last ten years in this area, are still kept on our watch-list, though in some cases it is presumed that they sunk due to bad weather or being unfit to sail. In the last four years, 22 missing ships have been traced back with different names, flags and superstructures.

Directly related news -----

Tuna catches in the South-Western Indian Ocean fell by as much as 30 percent last year as pirates blocked access to some of the world's richest tuna waters off Somalia, fisheries experts say. European fleets say the Somali pirates threaten an industry worth up to $6 billion across the Indian Ocean region. France and Spain, which both base fleets in the Seychelles, would expect to haul in nearly two-thirds of the year's catch off Somalia between August and November, Alejandro Anganuzzi, head of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), told Reuters. "Instead they had to look further east and probably caught 50 percent of what they would usually catch", he said. Some 50 trawlers use the capital Victoria's port, through which up to 350,000 tonnes of tuna are handled each year. But catches have suffered for two consecutive years as stocks fall. Fisheries experts say foreign currency earnings will have fallen as a result of the dwindling tuna catch, hurting hopes for an economic recovery in the debt-laden archipelago. In the Seychelles, tuna and related industries -- re-export of fuel to vessels, port services, electricity and water for vessels -- account for up to 40 percent of foreign earnings. Somalia has said piracy was merely a symptom of rampant illegal fishing by vessels from Europe and Asia in its waters after the country's central government collapsed in 1991. Reportedly more and more heavily armed fishing vessels from rogue nations replace those, who usually just tried to steal and run from the Somali waters.

The Kenya-based Maritime Seafarers Assistance Programme said in 2006 there were hundreds of illegal fishing boats in Somali waters at any one time, mainly chasing tuna. Some pirates have told Reuters they only turned to hijacking to stop foreign fishing vessels destroying their own small boats and equipment. But the ransoms earned simply increased their appetite for hunting other ships. From August to November, the waters of Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone (200nm EEZ) and beyond hold some of the planet's richest stocks of Yellowfin tuna. Somalis attacked tuna boats at least three times last year, leading to one ransom over $1 million. "The pirates' impact on the fishing off Somalia has been huge", said one European skipper, on condition of anonymity. "At least half our business is there. Now we cannot go there anymore. The last season was wrecked". The financial implications for the Seychelles are hard to fathom as the tuna industry is shrouded in secrecy. In Japan, top quality fish can sell for up to $100,000 each. According to data seen by Reuters, French vessels averaged some 4,000 tonnes each in 2008 compared to about 6,000 tonnes in 2006. But the financial ramifications go beyond the fleets. The Seychelles is paid per tonne of fish landed for port facilities -- an important source of foreign exchange for the archipelago -- and reduced catches mean fewer calls to port. "The pirates' biggest impact, however, is reduced [fish] supply, driving prices up", said Rondolph Payet head of the Seychelles Fisheries Authority. So, the "pirates" might well be the ones, who have achieved what the IOTC tried so far unsuccessfully to implement: A halt to IUU and over-fishing and an adjustment of a fair-price policy.

In the International Herald Tribune Alex Beam writes: Middle-class morality insists that we condemn the pirates. Of course, middle-class morality chooses to ignore the salubrious role of piracy, a.k.a. "privateering", in America's glorious revolution, and chooses to hail John Paul Jones as the father of the U.S. Navy rather than as the pirate king he really was. Perhaps middle-class morality is too quick to judge. The Somali pirates are not particularly bloodthirsty. They keep their hostages alive and well-fed, all the better to ransom them. Whom do they victimize? 1) Insurer Lloyd's of London (who cares?). 2) The oil-shipping brigands of OPEC (see previous). If anything, the pirates have been helping the world's oil cartel by taking supply off the market at a time when the oil-producing nations lack the discipline to cut back production. Some say the pirate boom is payback for so-called civilized countries' rape of Somalia's coast. Because Somalia lacks what most people would call a government, countries like Spain, France and Taiwan haven't hesitated to invade the country's territorial waters and extinguish their fishing stocks. The pirates know those waters intimately, because many of them are displaced fishermen. More shockingly, Johann Hari of the London Independent reports that European nations have been dumping toxic, radioactive medical waste into offshore Somali waters for several years. "Did we expect starving Somalis to stand passively on their beaches, paddling in our toxic waste, and watch us snatch their fish to eat in restaurants in London and Paris and Rome?" Hari writes. He concludes that the pirates "have some justice on their side".

Clashes between Somali government forces and Islamist rebels claimed the lives of at least 35 people in southern Mogadishu over the last three days, Iran’s Press TV reported. The renewed fighting occurred a few days after Ethiopian troops, who came to aid of the Somali government in January 2007, left the country. More than 7,000 families escaped the southern districts of the capital, where the violence erupted. Islamist fighters in Somalia, many of whom are affiliated with A-Shabab Al-Mujahidun, have regained control over most of central and southern Somalia, including entire districts in the capital itself.

The United Nations will be forced to end food distribution in Somalia unless armed groups there stop attacking U.N. staff, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Thursday. Humanitarian workers have repeatedly been targeted during a two-year-old rebellion by Islamist insurgents that has killed more than 16,000 civilians and uprooted one million others. Four WFP staff have been killed since August last year. Peter Goossens, WFP country director for Somalia, said the U.N. agency was distributing about 57,000 metric tonnes of food to southern and central regions that he said would feed some 2.5 million people until around mid-February. "That is it basically", Goossens told a news conference in neighbouring Kenya. "Unless we get positive assurances from the population, authorities and whoever is in control of such areas that our staff can safely function, we will have no choice but to stop distributing food in those specific areas". Underlining the risks to aid workers, an unknown group had left leaflets in an area in central Somalia on Thursday, warning humanitarian workers to vacate the area. Various Islamist rebel factions control most of south and central Somalia, while feuding militias hold sway elsewhere and 3,500 African Union (AU) peacekeepers are based in Mogadishu, REUTERS stated. The WFP has called on foreign navies to help it escort aid shipments through Somalia's pirate-infested waters. "We want community leaders to step forward and offer us clear assurances that WFP workers will be able to carry out their humanitarian work in safety", said WFP Deputy Chief Operating Officer Ramiro Lopes da Silva.

According to mareed.com, UN Special Envoy to Somalia, Mr. Ahmad Ould Abdallah, has said the withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces was a victory and he congratulated Somali people, adding that they should not waste the big opportunity that is in their hands. A press release said that the UN is happy and satisfied with the idea of holding the presidential election in Djibouti. However, the Eritrean-based faction of the ARS as well as the al-Shabab movement in Somali, are still opposing the reconciliation talks.

Uganda is to deploy another battalion of about 700 soldiers in volatile Somalia following the complete withdrawal of the Ethiopian troops, an official said on Thursday. Crispus Kiyonga, Uganda's Defence Minister told the defence committee of the parliament that the troops, along with another contingent from Burundi will be deployed in the country in the next two to three weeks, filling a vacuum created by Ethiopia's withdrawal. He said that the Somali Transitional Federal Government and the opposition Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia have agreed to raise another 10,000 troops within the country to pacify the situation. Kiyonga said Nigeria has also recommitted itself to sending troops to Somalia. Gen. Aronda Nyakairima, Chief of Defense Forces of Uganda People's Defense Force said that once the troops are on the ground, two battalions, one from Uganda or Burundi together with another from the local joint force would be deployed in Baidoa to protect parliament. A total of 8,000 African Union peacekeepers are required in Somalia but only 3,000 troops from Uganda and Burundi have been deployed. Nyakairima said that since the Ethiopian withdrawal and the resignation of Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, the violence in the country has reduced. "The situation poses challenges but also provides opportunities to stabilize Somalia", he said.

Puntland’s new interior minister has been sworn-in by a new administration in Somalia's semi-autonomous state of Puntland. Gen. Abdullahi Ahmed "Ilkajir" officially took the oath of office Wednesday in Garowe, the capital of Puntland in NE-Somalia. Puntland President Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed "Farole" was present at the ceremony, as the deputy ministers of security, women's affairs and public works were also sworn-in. "I am happy to inherit a functioning ministry, thanks to the people before me", new Puntland Interior Minister Ilkajir said, while shaking hands with the ex-Deputy Interior Minister Ahmed Adan Arab. Gen. Ilkajir's predecessor, ex-Interior Minister Abdulhamid Garad Jama, was reportedly in Djibouti and could not attend the hand-over ceremony in Garowe. Puntland's new interior minister urged the Ministry employees to work harder, saying that he will defend their labor rights. A politician from Sanaag region, Gen. Ilkajir lost to President Farole in the peaceful Jan. 8 parliamentary vote that ushered in a new era of change in Puntland. Farole's appointment of Gen. Ilkajir – and two other ex-presidential contenders – was widely seen as a compromise move to settle political differences for greater common interests in the region.

Ethiopian troops killed a senior Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) rebel leader last week in the east of the country, an official said on Thursday. Dawed Mohammed Ali, administrator of the remote region bordering Somalia, said the ONLF's foreign relations chief Mohammed Sirad and an unspecified number of his colleagues were killed as they met in Ogaden's town of Danan. The ONLF, whose fighters are estimated to number several thousand, says it is fighting for the autonomy of its ethnically Somali region and has warned foreign oil explorers against prospecting on its land. "Sirad, a former regional official who joined the rebel front after stealing state funds, was conducting violence in the Somali region from his base in Eritrea", Dawed said. He did not give any more details. The governments in Addis Ababa and Asmara routinely accuse each other of supporting guerrilla movements on the other's territory. Both the government and rebels accuse each other of human rights abuses, and aid workers say nearly a million people in the arid area need humanitarian help. ONLF officials could not immediately be reached for comment, reports Reuters.

Japan's ruling coalition Thursday approved plans to send naval ships to pirate-infested waters off Somalia to protect Japanese vessels and nationals, an official said. The decision by the coalition's anti-piracy task force is expected to pave the way for a Japanese mission off the coast of the lawless African nation some time in the coming months, reports AFP. The navy would protect Japanese-registered ships and foreign ships with Japanese crew and passengers, or important cargo, said an official with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's junior coalition partner, New Komeito. The task force said that Japanese coastguards should be on board the navy ships to exercise police duties as the Japanese navy's role was limited strictly to self-defence, he said. It is up to government to decide what kind of, and how many, ships should be dispatched, said the official in the New Komeito policy planning team. Earlier reports have said Prime Minister Taro Aso will authorise a plan for a destroyer to head to Somalia. A number of nations are sending ships to the area to fend off increasingly brazen pirate attacks, which have led some shipping companies to avoid the route via the Suez Canal and, at greater cost, sail around Africa instead. Japan, officially pacifist since World War II, can legally use its navy only to protect Japanese vessels and citizens.

Stakeholders Meeting on Maritime Piracy in Somali Coast. The meeting, organized in Turin for 28 January 2009 by UNICRI, will see the participation, among the others, of NATO, EU, UNODC, UNOSAT, US Department of Defence, Malaysia intelligence services and Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affaires and will be chaired by the Italian Navy. Moreover, the meeting will foresee the participation of many Government representatives as well as private actors involved in the maritime business. It represents the "first step" within the global applied research programme on the fight against maritime piracy that will be carried out by our office and that will take place in the next two years. Its overall objective is to improve knowledge management, exchange good practices and enhance international cooperation between the public sector (Governments and International Organizations) and private actors in the fight against maritime piracy. Moreover, the meeting aims at improving knowledge and exchange information about practical and technological responses to maritime piracy.
For further information please contact: mascoli@unicri.it

The IMO sub-regional meeting to conclude agreements on maritime security, piracy and armed robbery against ships for States from the Western Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea areas will be held in Djibouti from 26 to 29 January 2009. Twenty States had been invited to participate in the meeting, but not all have responded yet. The International Maritime Organization tries with this meeting to further manifest a regional understanding leading to a Regional Cooperation Agreement on sharing and reporting relevant information; interdicting ships suspected of engaging in acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships; ensuring that persons committing or attempting to commit acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships are successfully apprehended and prosecuted; and facilitating proper care, treatment, and repatriation for seafarers and passengers subject to acts of piracy or armed robbery against ships, particularly those who have been subjected to violence.

The Spanish parliament Wednesday approved a proposal to send 395 troops to Somalia to combat piracy off the African Horn nation's coastline. The posting of Spanish troops to Somalia, which will cost between 3.7 million and 5.1 million euros (4.6 million and 6.5 million U.S. dollars) per month, is scheduled for Friday. The spending will be included in the budget for peace missions. Spain spent more than 30 million dollars last year just in pirate-related rescue missions, said Defense Minister Carmen Chacon, adding that the number of hijacked ships in 2008 was three times higher than in 2007. This and other money allocations by numerous countries to war-games is a slap into the face of all those positive forces within the Somali Governance as well as from international organizations, who had tried since 15 years to rehabilitate Somali institutions in order to monitor and safeguard the Somali seas, but never received any funding. The true agenda thereby becomes clear with continued illegal fishing of European owned vessels - especially involving Spanish, Greek and French interests.

A Russian destroyer made a scheduled visit to Yemen's largest port of Aden on Wednesday, according to Yemen press reports. The Admiral Vinogradov has been patrolling the waters off Somali within the framework of the international mission against piracy. The destroyer will remain in Aden for a few days to replenish supplies, Yemen's Saba news agency reported. Once supplies are replenished, the Russian destroyer will return to duty off the eastern coast of Africa. In January, the Admiral Vinogradov replaced the Baltic Fleet's Neustrashimy missile frigate escorting civilian vessels through areas where Somali pirates are active.

China has used attacks on Chinese ships by pirates off the coast of Somalia, and the authorisation by the UN Security Council to fight piracy, to launch itself as a blue water naval force on the international scene, writes Carol Divjak on wsws.org . As it seeks to become a major economic power, China is compelled to project its military forces around the world to protect its trade, investments and supplies of raw materials. Like its rivals that already have warships patrolling the strategically vital sea lanes through the Gulf of Aden connecting Asia and Europe, China's naval presence is not so much about fighting the pirates, but protecting its own economic interests.

On December 26, two destroyers and a supply ship carrying 1,000 troops, including special forces, guided missiles and helicopters set sail from a new naval base on Hainan Island off the south China coast. The three-month mission is being given considerable prominence with state television reporters on board to broadcast the operations back home.

The state media is comparing the operation to the fifteenth century voyages of Chinese navigator Zheng He, who sailed a vast fleet through the Indian Ocean and reached Africa. China's failure to follow up on Zheng's voyages by expanding trade and establishing colonies is often held in ruling circles to be the reason why it failed to become the major capitalist power. They are determined not to miss out this time.

The official China Youth Daily called on the Chinese navy to follow Zheng He's methods of attacking on land and sea to root out the pirates in the Strait of Malacca at the time, then bringing "captured leaders back to the Celestial Empire [to face justice]". Zheng's aim was actually to force the "barbarians" to be subservient to the "Middle Kingdom". The newspaper called for troops to land in Somalia to destroy pirate bases—in essence, an aggressive, interventionist policy.

The Peoples Liberation Army Daily commented on January 4: "Today, overseas trade has become absolutely vital to our economy, sea lanes and major choke points have become the important ‘lifeline' of our economic and social development. Using naval forces to protect national maritime interests is an important measure for our military to defend the national interests...".

As China became an economic power, the newspaper continued, national interests went beyond the traditional territories of air, sea and land, and "expand towards the ocean, outer space and cyber space. Wherever are our expanded national interests, the duties of our military will be expanded there".

Trade with Europe, Africa and the Middle East has vastly expanded. Around 1,265 Chinese commercial vessels passed the Gulf of Aden last year, including tankers carrying 60 percent of China's imported oil from the Middle East, as well as shipments of raw materials from Africa. Europe is now China's largest trade partner, with much of the trade passing through the Red Sea and Indian Ocean.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao reported last month that Somali pirates had attacked one fifth of Chinese vessels passing through Somali waters from January to November last year, hijacking 15 vessels.

The region is one of great power rivalry. The US has repeatedly intervened in the Horn of Africa, a region next to Sudan, where China has major oil interests. Both the US and European powers have repeatedly accused China of protecting the Sudanese regime and failing to exert pressure to halt ethnic cleansing in the Darfur area.

There will be minimal cooperation between the Chinese and other navies in the area, apart from routine communications with the other warships, including those from the US, Europe, India and Russia. The Chinese vessels will not be part of any multinational command and will protect only Chinese ships. Hong Kong and Taiwanese ships will also eligible for escort. So far the fleet had carried out six escort missions.

China is clearly flexing its military muscle. Li Wei, director of the anti-terrorism research centre at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told the China Daily last month: "China's military participation sends a strong political message to the international community, that a China with its improved economic and military strength is willing to play a larger role in maintaining world peace and security".

The US, Japan, India and Europe are watching the development with unease. China has emerged as a new power, rapidly penetrating into Africa, Latin America and now the Indian Ocean.

The London-based Times summed up the concerns in the West: "In an era when China is playing a much larger global role in commerce and politics, the deployment [of warships to the Gulf of Aden] redefines it as a nation prepared to spill blood protecting its diverse stakes in the world economy".

The Chinese military budget for 2008 saw another sharp increase after a major jump in 2007. The budget increased by 17.6 percent to $US58.8 billion, although the US Defence Department claims that Beijing's real military spending is two to three times that figure.

Much of this military expenditure went to the navy. China now possesses 57 attack submarines, a dozen of which are nuclear-powered, 74 major surface vessels (destroyers and frigates) and 55 large- and medium-sized amphibious ships. A few nuclear-powered strategic submarines are armed with long-range ballistic missiles. A significant portion of this naval force has been built since 2000. China is now the world's third largest shipbuilder—building one fifth of the world's ships—and thus has a considerable industrial basis for further naval expansion.

A strategic report published this month by the right-wing US think tank, the American Enterprise Institute, pointed out that the rapidly expanding Chinese submarine force has taken "American intelligence experts by surprise". Since 1990, China has initiated five submarine programs and, since 1995, has added 37 submarines to its navy, including nuclear-powered ones. By adding three new subs a year, China could have up to 85 submarines in eight years. "Never since the period between the two world wars has a nation undertaken a comparable level of submarine development", the study stated.

Although the Chinese navy has been aimed primarily against Taiwan, the US is deeply concerned that China will challenge its dominance in the Pacific Ocean. In October 2006, a Chinese submarine followed the USS Kitty Hawk without being detected and surfaced close to the aircraft carrier, causing dismay in US naval circles about China's advances in submarine technology.

A major concern for China's rivals is recent preparations to build aircraft carriers. At the news conference announcing the dispatch of warships to Somali waters, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Huang Xueping said China would use aircraft carriers to "defend sovereignty over coastal areas and territorial seas". His comment came just after Chinese general Quan Lihua told the Financial Times in November that China was considering the construction of one to two aircraft carriers. China has ordered 50 Su-33 fighters from Russia, specifically designed for carriers.

The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on December 31 that sources in the Shanghai municipal government and Chinese military had indicated China would start to build an aircraft carrier at the Shanghai shipyard this year, to be completed by 2015. The two 50,000-60,000-ton carriers are to be conventionally-powered vessels and therefore much smaller than their US counterparts. They will be assigned to the Southern Fleet in the South China Sea and possibly to the Indian Ocean to protect oil shipments from the Middle East. Well aware of the potential threat to Japan's sea lanes, Asahi Shimbun warned that these carriers "could significantly impact the delicate military balance in East Asia".

Although still the leading naval power in Asia, Japan is acutely aware of China's growing economic and military strength. Since World War II, the Japanese constitution has banned the use of military force in settling international disputes, and this has inhibited the building of obvious offensive weapons such as aircraft carriers. However, since the 1990s, the Japanese navy has undergone significant changes, circumventing the pacifist clause by building helicopter carriers labeled "destroyers". Some analysts believed these carriers could be converted to carry fixed-wing aircraft.

Reacting to the news of Chinese warships heading for the Gulf of Aden, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso immediately instructed the defence ministry to "quickly participate in counter-piracy measures". However, this deployment is likely to face a protracted political process before being approved. Japan's ongoing refueling operation in the Indian Ocean to support the US-led war in Afghanistan has provoked considerable political opposition, creating political crises for the Liberal Democratic Party government.

India, another Chinese rival, is also concerned about Beijing's Somali mission, even though China and India held joint naval exercises in 2008 and counter-terrorism exercises in 2007. China has established ports in Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and conducted naval exercises with Pakistan, creating fears in New Delhi that China is seeking to penetrate the Indian Ocean, long regarded by India as its sphere of influence. Already operating one aircraft carrier and with two more under construction, India is spending billions of dollars every year to beef up its navy to protect its own economic and strategic interests. A comment in the Indian Express last month warned that Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean are "bound to constrict India's own freedom of naval action in the Indian Ocean. China's strategic re-entry of the Indian Ocean after nearly five centuries demands a sophisticated Indian response that simultaneously cooperates with the PLA navy on shared maritime objectives and pre-empts any Chinese moves to establish a permanent base in the Indian Ocean... As China's shadow darkens over the Indian Ocean, the government must get its diplomats and sailors to work together as never before".

South Korea decided to send a warship to waters off Somalia to help fight piracy. It would mark the first time that Korea participated in an international naval operation. The presidential office said the Cabinet ratified a plan to dispatch a 4,500-ton navy destroyer - the Ganggamchan that will carry three high-speed boats, along with a helicopter - together with 310 soldiers to the Gulf of Aden on a mission to protect South Korean commercial vessels from pirates. The planned dispatch is subject to parliamentary approval and the government plans to present a motion to the National Assembly's February extra-ordinary session. The proposal is expected to pass, since the opposition party does not oppose it. The mission, expected to cost around 28 billion won ($20 million), would end by Dec. 31 next year. Extensions may be possible, officials said. Calls for a troop dispatch to the region have risen in South Korea following a series of piracy cases involving its nationals. Since 2006, four South Korean vessels have been hijacked, though later released. The Korean forces would be taking part in the maritime security operation under the guide of the United States-led Combined Maritime Forces. "The government endorsed the dispatch plan to join the international efforts for fighting pirates and to ensure the safe passage of Korean ships", said Jeon Jae-guk, the ministry's policy chief. "The naval forces will be sent as soon as possible". Earlier attempts to reach such decision were stalled mostly out of security concerns that the dispatch of a destroyer might hamper the Navy's capability to defend waters surrounding the Korean peninsula. Last week, North Korea issued a message bitterly denouncing the Lee Myung-bak administration. The message also indicated that Pyongyang may take military action in the West Sea, where lies the disputed inter-Korean maritime border. "We have closely observed the military defence posture, and we have decided there is no reason to believe that sending the ship may result in a security vacuum", Jeon said. Cost was another contentious issue, which led to the delay in submitting the plan to the Assembly. The Defence Ministry said it has minimized the expenses to bring it down to half the originally envisioned 45 billion won.

Impacting news from the global village ------

Over 40 African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and NGOs proposed on Thursday specific recommendations for consideration by the African heads of states and governments during the 12th ordinary summit of the African Union (AU) scheduled to be held in Addis Ababa as of next week (26 January-3 February). Accordingly, the regional, national and international organisations that are operating in the majority of African countries proposed three areas of consideration namely Peace and Security -in eastern DRC, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Darfur –, the Social Policy Framework and the Union Government. "This upcoming Summit takes place within global financial crisis, fuel price fluctuations, food and ecological crises that threaten to undermine the economic growth and development progress we have seen in Africa over the last few years", said a joint communiqué sent to APA by the organisations. They said that four million people in Somalia, Sudan, DRC and Zimbabwe are compounded by the persistence of human rights violations, conflicts and governance failure. "We recommend that the AU vigorously condemns the grave violations of human rights abuse committed by the armed parties involved in the conflict. We demand Congolese authorities to take all necessary measures to ensure that victims of those crimes have access to proper justice and reparation. We demand that perpetrators of the grave crimes be brought to justice and prosecuted, and to that effect encourages the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC)", the organisations said. The CSOs are also demanding that the leaders discuss and give due attention to all current conflict in the continent.

Rogue German Ship Fertilizing Southern Ocean in Dangerous Climate Geo-Engineering Experiment

RV Polarstern, a German research ship from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, is to dump twenty tons of iron sulphate over 300 square kilometres of the Scotia Sea, off Chile's coast, near the Antarctic Peninsula. The chemical cargo -- normally used to treat lawns and sewage -- is likely to provoke a massive algal bloom big enough to be seen from outer space.
German and Indian scientists are hoping the experiment will show that such manmade algae blooms can provide a quick fix to climate change by absorbing carbon into the sea. In fact, it is a desperate attempt to put off hard climate change policies by using technology to further create a human dominated "Frankensphere". Along with other geo-engineering proposals such as space mirrors and aerosol release, seeking to engineer the biosphere holds great risks of unintended consequences such as further climate destabilization and global ecological damage.

The experiment breaches the global moratorium on ocean fertilization activities recently agreed under the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity and defies agreements against dumping of wastes in the sea. Ocean fertilization treats oceans as carbon dumps, and will severely deplete already troubled marine ecosystems.

"This is one of the first of many coming attempts to begin 'geo-engineering' the biosphere as a desperate measure to address climate change", notes Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet's President. "Geo-engineering won't work -- the atmosphere is simply too complex -- and trying will almost certainly make things worse. It diverts from sufficient emissions reductions, conservation and efficiency, and renewable energy solutions to stop climate change and restore global ecological systems".

Along with other geo-engineering proposals such as space mirrors and aerosol release, seeking to engineer the biosphere holds great risks of unintended consequences such as further climate destabilization and global ecological damage.

Global protest has already led to a review of the experiment. And in recent days 1,200 people from 63 countries have sent hundreds of thousands of protest emails from Ecological Internet's Earth Action Network to the German government[1]. They have demanded the experiment be cancelled, and Germany agrees to a permanent ban on large-scale geo-engineering experiments and implementation, until all other options are exhausted, and global geo-engineering protocols are in place.

[1] Take action:
http://www.climateark.org/shared/alerts/send.aspx?id=ocean_geo-engineering

End of the Ecoterra 116th Press Release Update