Pirates should be shot on sight: Jakarta navy chief

The Straits Times ^ | June 18,2004 | AFP, AP

[bunkerhill7]

Pirates should be shot on sight: Jakarta navy chief June 18, 2004 JAKARTA - Pirates who launch armed attacks in Indonesian waters should be shot on sight without mercy, Indonesia's navy chief said yesterday.

'There is a legal basis for this. We are merely defending ourselves if they attack first,' Antara news agency quoted Admiral Bernard Kent Sondakh as saying. Advertisement

'If they are caught alive, they would only get, at the most, three months in jail. After that, they go pirating again,' he told reporters after presenting special citations to 24 crew members of a Navy ship.

The 24 were commended for thwarting pirates who hijacked and took hostage 36 people on board a tanker in waters off Berhala Island in North Sumatra province last Saturday.

Indonesia has the world's worst piracy record, with 21 reported attacks in the first three months of this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

Spurning suggestions by the United States that its forces could be used to guard the Malacca Straits, Admiral Sondakh also proposed a joint task force to guard the busy waterway.

The task force would involve Singaporean and Malaysian forces to guard the 900km waterway, one of the world's busiest shipping channels, the navy chief said.

'All this time we have had good cooperation with Malaysia and Singapore.

'If the task force is established, automatically security in the Malacca Straits will be strengthened,' said Admiral Sondakh.

He also said Indonesian officials will meet their Malaysian counterparts on June 27 to discuss increasing security in the narrow straits. A date has yet to be set for talks with Singapore's officials.

Admiral Sondakh said outside forces could help by providing intelligence, equipment or expertise.

About a third of the world's trade and 80 per cent of Japan's crude oil from the Middle East ply the 900km narrow corridor between ports in East Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

In March, a top US admiral sparked a controversy when he suggested that US Marines' special forces personnel in high-speed vessels could be deployed to help patrol the waterway.

Indonesia and Malaysia - who are wary of infringements on their territorial sovereignty - have repeatedly rebuffed US offers to deploy troops to the region.

On the other hand, Singapore says it is open to American involvement in security in the straits. -- AFP, AP

[1rudeboy]

Historically, the pirates in this area do not harm the crew unless it resists. I don't know if that has changed, although the article suggests that it hasn't. The pirates want you alive 1. to crew the ship, and 2. to avoid murder charges. The advantage is theirs, anyway--and the sharks eat the evidence. As a ship's master, you yourself would believe that arming your crew is a bad idea, seeing that you usually don't know them, and rarely speak their language. Also, the number of guards you'd have to post in order to properly defend your ship would be far too expensive, as is operating your ship at top speed. Furthermore, these ships are not that fast to begin with . . . any decent speedboat can overtake a tanker or freighter.

Finally, one low-tech method to seize a ship on the high seas is to place two dhows (or whatnot) with a line stretched between them perpendicular to the target ship's course. As the target ship strikes the line, it pulls taut and draws the two pirate vessels abeam (one on each side). From there it is a simple matter to clamber aboard. At best, the target ship has two or three crew on the bridge. Seize them, and send accomplices to Engineering and the crew's quarters to inform them that there's a new captain. Piece of cake if you know what you're doing.

[B4Ranch]

weekly_piracy_report

http://www.iccwbo.org/ccs/imb_piracy/weekly_piracy_report.asp

Maps_2003

http://www.iccwbo.org/ccs/news_archives/2004/images/piracy_2003/Maps_2003.asp

[B4Ranch]

Notice that piracy doesn't occur in the US or Australia? Hmm Wonder why? LOL

[dufekin]

Let's not forget the most crucial part of this report:

Pirates who launch armed attacks in Indonesian waters should be shot on sight without mercy, Indonesia's navy chief said yesterday.

"There is a legal basis for this. We are merely defending ourselves if they attack first," Antara news agency quoted Admiral Bernard Kent Sondakh as saying.

"If they are caught alive, they would only get, at the most, three months in jail. After that, they go pirating again," he told reporters after presenting special citations to 24 crew members of a Navy ship.

Read that last paragraph again, and you'll discover exactly why Indonesia is such a pirate haven.

And let us not forget, some of these pirates are al-Qaida.

[reagan_fanatic]

Kill ,em, gut 'em and mutilate 'em. But for God's sake, DON'T BLINDFOLD THEM AND PUT PANTIES ON THEIR HEADS!

[Lockbar]

Shot on sight? SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

[Indie]

Hopefully, Indonesia will NOT allow America to get involved in the Starights. Our track record [with terrorists and illegal immigrants] is one of appeasement, release and failure.

I think their idea of "shooting on sight" is much better than our version of "justice."