Strong action needed against piracy on the high seas

The upside of this terrible ordeal is that the international community should now finally take decisive action against the Somali pirates.

There is absolutely no question that under customary international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, all states have the unfettered right to capture pirates in international waters and subject them to trial and punishment in any jurisdiction.

The right to go after pirates has been around for hundreds of years and indeed is one of the oldest issues in international law. Along with slavery, piracy is among the handful of crimes violating jus cogens, a universally accepted international norm that all nations of the world must conform to. Anyone who commits piracy becomes subject to “universal jurisdiction,” under which all states have legal jurisdiction and a moral obligation to capture and try the pirates. Flag states of pirate ships have no right to protest when pirates are captured and tried.

Under the 1982 Law of the Sea, all states have even been granted the right to chase pirates in 'hot pursuit' into the territorial waters of any other state.

Clearly then, every government in the world, including Taiwan's, has the fundamental right to take action against pirates, including by military force, and punish pirates captured alive.

That is why as long as no innocent persons are at risk, the multinational naval force patrolling the waters off the coast of Somalia should not hesitate in using military force against pirates.

When pirates are captured, they may either be taken back to the captor vessel's flag state for trial or turned over to a third country, in this case most likely Kenya, where the world can be assured the pirates will be tried and punished if found guilty.

As a major seafaring power that is heavily dependent on freedom of navigation to ensure its economic viability, Taiwan also has a very selfish interest in seeing the piracy problem contained.

Taiwan is utterly dependent on international shipping lanes for delivery of most of its energy resources such as oil and natural gas. Exports account for nearly 80 percent of the island's gross domestic product, and open international shipping lanes are vital to the timely delivery of these products. Taiwan is also the home base for one of the world's largest fishing fleets.

The alternative, directing ROC merchant vessels to avoid waters off the northern coast of Africa, would make both imports and exports more expensive, severely crimping a faltering economy that's competing for shrinking markets around the world.

1|2|Next Page>>

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email