India, China Agree To Eliminate Piracy

Keeping persistent threats from pirates operating off the coast of Somalia in view, two Asian giants – India and China – have agreed to cooperate with each other, roping in Japan to tackle piracy.
This is the first working relationship on the high seas between the Indian Navy and China’s People Liberation Army (Navy). The two armies have so far worked under an agreement to patrol land borders and also follow a protocol when faced with each other on the disputed Line of Actual Control. The Naval arrangement started a month ago and has provided more safety and better utilization of resources. It is a working-level meeting (on the high seas) to ensure effective communication and operations.
Independent Anti-Piracy Patrols
Warships from India, China and Japan have been deployed independently. Their role is conducting independent anti-piracy patrols in the internationally recognized transit corridor — a 480 nautical mile (approximately 890 km) long area in the Gulf of Aden. The 92-km wide corridor starts at the confluence of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and extends eastwards toward the Arabian Sea.
The three have so far not been part of the Combined Task Force-151, essentially a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led force for anti-piracy, and nor are they part of the Eunavfor, another grouping of European countries along similar lines. Merchant ship operators have been keen that nations like India, China and Japan that are not part of the big groupings and operate independently, should cooperate among themselves as their standalone warships would then be of greater help in tackling piracy.
Transit Corridor
India has a warship on duty in the transit corridor since October 2008. China has two warships and a fleet tanker that replenishes supplies while the Japanese also have two warships along with a maritime reconnaissance plane based in Djibouti, close to Somalia.
To facilitate sharing of information, a counter-piracy platform exists and that is named Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE). It meets on a quarterly basis at Bahrain and has a convoy coordination group that provides merchant ships with naval warship protection. All navies that send warships to escort merchant vessels are extended members of SHADE. Its primary aim is to ensure effective coordination and de-confliction of military resources and operations in combating piracy.

Terror of Pirates

Somali pirates have become a serious challenge for the world. Every now and then they hijack commercial vessels and take huge amounts in lieu of releasing the crew members held hostage. This problem has assumed serious proportions. Their activities are growing. Approximately six months ago they hijacked a ship and were holding 15 Indian crew members hostage and were demanding huge amount as ransom from the concerned shipping company. After the company paid the ransom, the pirates released eight Indian hostages recently, but they did not release the remaining seven Indians and continued to hold them as hostage. Now they are demanding to release those 61 pirates, who were arrested by the Indian Navy in March, in lieu of the seven Indian hostages.
Role of the United Nations
Overseas Indians Affairs Minister V. Ravi has said that saving the lives of Indian hostages would be their highest priority. He has also assured of quick decision and speedy action in this matter. Indian naval ships have foiled several attempts of hijacking ships by these pirates, but this problem is not restricted to any one country. All countries of the world are suffering from this problem.
An economic organization named the International Counter Piracy Trust has been constituted to prevent it, which makes funds available for the projects to deal with pirates, but it is not proving to be very effective. This is such a complex problem that only two-three countries cannot deal with it collectively. The UN role could prove effective for it.
Solution to Problem
A mechanism should be created under it that launches a campaign for eradication of pirates. The navies of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France are deployed on the Somali coast. Despite it, pirates have been unleashing terror.
The Somali Government is weak and without resources. It could also be a good alternative that, instead of taking action separately, the Somali Government should be strengthened by providing arms and funds to it, which could eradicate the pirates.

Admiral Gorshkov Deal

The statement given by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta regarding the Admiral Gorshkov deal should be considered as the navy's official opinion. In fact, only the defense forces' opinion on quality of defense material and cost could be the most credible one.
Away from politics and faults found by analysts, the armed forces express their opinion about any defense system from a purely defense angle, after considering its need, utility, and price in comparison to similar equipment available in the market.

Opinions and Counter-Opinions
The deal for aircraft carrier Gorshkov is not quite recent. There have been several opinions and counter-opinions on it. Anyone who thoroughly understands the capability of an aircraft carrier, the technology used in it, and its quality can differentiate between truth and falsehood. If Admiral Mehta says that no question can be raised over this deal, the country should accept it as truth.
The Gorshkov deal is in the headlines these days owing to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report. The CAG may have its own opinion. It has given its conclusions on the basis of comparison between the initial price of Gorshkov, and the current price.
The first agreement with Russia was of $875 million, but the cost has kept on escalating as it was repaired and fitted with latest technology in keeping with Indian Navy's requirements. At first, India refused to pay the additional amount to Russia, but after considering everything, it found Russia's demand to be justified, and there were renegotiations in the deal. Now, we would get Admiral Gorshkov for $1.82 billion.

India's Urgent Need
At first glance, it seems that Russia has forced India to pay more in view of India's urgent need, but Admiral Mehta says that if anyone can find an aircraft carrier for less than $2 billion, he is ready to buy it. What more could someone have said without making a comment on CAG? Even before the CAG report, certain defense experts had raised questions about the utility, quality, and price of Gorshkov, and these were also answered. We should not forget that we have been searching for an aircraft carrier for the past 19 years.
Though Gorshkov is an old Russian aircraft carrier, effort has been made to make it new and useful, from every angle, for India. When it passes all tests after the trial, the Indian Navy would commission it. That is why there is delay in bringing it to India. But we should remember the proverb of better late than never. When the Navy is satisfied, what is the point in others being dissatisfied with it?