WATCHING THE WORLD: A new flag of convenience

May 12, 2008
The US and French governments, deeply concerned about attacks on oil tankers, have introduced a draft United Nations resolution that would allow countries to pursue pirates from the high seas and into territorial waters to arrest them.

The US and French governments, deeply concerned about attacks on oil tankers, have introduced a draft United Nations resolution that would allow countries to pursue pirates from the high seas and into territorial waters to arrest them.

While the draft resolution would specifically authorize action only against pirates off Somalia, it contains the possibility of extending the antipiracy mandate elsewhere.

The draft resolution expresses concern at reports from the International Maritime Organization providing “evidence of continuing piracy and armed robbery in regions crucial to international navigation, including the western Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea.”

It cites the hijacking off Somalia of the Panamanian-flagged vessel Fiesty Gas Apr. 10, the French-flagged passenger ship Le Ponant Apr. 4, the Spanish fishing vessel Playa de Bakio Apr. 20, and the attempted hijacking of the Japanese oil tanker Takayama Apr. 21.

Al Qaeda speaks up

Ominously, the Al Qaeda terrorist organization recently issued a resolution of its own calling for maritime jihad, or “holy war.” It cites the very same attacks as examples of its recent successes against the West.

The group referred to “the operations by the gunmen who seized the French yacht and struck the Japanese oil tanker, the Spanish yacht, and commercial ships that ply between the coast of Somalia and Yemen....”

The group underlined its successes in the region, recalling that the mujahidin, or holy warriors, succeeded in Yemen twice: “The first was the preparation for the two blessed conquests in New York and Washington by striking the American destroyer Cole in October 2000; then, there was the French oil tanker Limburg in 2002.”

The group explained why the area is so important to their larger strategic aims: “The beaches of Yemen are considered the links between the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. The latter overlooks the Strait of Bab al-Mandab in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

“This region represents a strategic point to expel the enemy from the most important pillars of its battle. If [the enemy] is unable to protect itself in this strategic region, then it cannot protect itself on the ground and its naval bases under the blows of the mujahidin.”

Terrorists, not “pirates”

It can hardly be a coincidence that the Al Qaeda statement and the proposed UN resolution have come at the same time. In fact, both sides seem to have declared open warfare on each other, with the high seas now the battleground.

But there’s much more going on in this war than the mere “pirate” attacks that are mentioned in the UN resolution sponsored by the US and France.

We sense that the international war on terror is being taken to the sea, but we also sense that the resolution is flying a flag of convenience: instead of being called “the war on maritime terrorists” it’s called “the war on piracy.”