U.S., Philippines Agree to Fight Piracy

Last April, when pirates off the coast of Somalia seized the Alabama, a merchant vessel, and took its captain hostage, Americans learned that piracy on the high seas—around Somalia, Nigeria, and elsewhere—is a serious problem.

So I was pleased today to meet with President Gloria Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines to sign the first joint nonbinding Memorandum of Cooperation between our nations to address the piracy issue.

It is estimated that pirates have carried out more than 82 attacks this year just in the waters of the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast. And more than 199 seafarers are currently being held captive.

Piracy threatens the health and safety of our seamen and disrupts the free flow of maritime commerce in major commercial corridors.

Many U.S. vessels have been threatened by these activities, and the Philippines is the world’s largest supplier of seafaring labor—so this problem concerns both our nations.

Working together, we will draw upon the resources of both our nations to identify areas where we can improve counter-piracy training and education.

We will develop best practices to enhance vessel security, conduct drills to ensure our seamen are prepared to respond to acts of piracy, and share information. And we will also examine ways to strengthen legislation and regulations to address this problem.

President Obama understands that a healthy maritime transportation sector is vital to our economy; vital to our ability to compete globally; and vital to our continued good relations with trading partners around the world.

Our new arrangement with the Philippines reflects our commitment to work closely with other nations to combat piracy wherever it occurs.

Comments

[Alexander]

Great blog. Hopefully the piracy around Somalia can be stopped soon.

[OC Webdesign]

I have not heard of any incidence of this recently. I am glad. I think even if it does happen from time to time, I think it is good that it is not publicized. I would hate to think we are encouraging the pirates by making them notorious.

Sincerely,
The Boys of White Ink Studio.

[Maggie the Magazine Subscriptions Lady]

Piracy is something that goes to the heart of the new world. and in the same way that the United States became a beacon of hope for those looking for freedom from persecutions, I am sure that the pirates will get their just desserts. We see a lot of coverage in Time and Newsweek on Piracy issues and it's good to see the battle isn't lost.