Maritime Security Review 14 Luglio 2017
MSR Newsletter
The latest news for July 14th 2017
| Dear Readers, Firstly, a happy Fete Nationale Day to French readers, who are joined by President Trump for their celebrations (I say this, as I'm currently in France myself and need to keep in with the locals). We begin this week with news from the Indian Ocean and what would appear to be a response from Iran to the seizure of one of its vessels by Saudi Arabia recently. Yes, Iran has seized a Saudi vessel. We await the diplomatic fallout. Staying in the region, the US and UN are investigating reports that some pirate leaders, notably kidnap and hijack specialist Mohamed Garfanje, are also supporting terrorists. The US has long been keen to 'prove' the piracy-terrorism nexus, as it would see a significant change in the way pirates are legally categorised. Whether the report will reflect potential clan and familial relationships between the groups is unclear at this stage. In Southeast Asia, as Philippine Armed Forces continue to press Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists, we note that two more crew have been released. Sadly, the terrorists also killed a third Vietnamese crewman this week. In Europe, the Irish Navy is said to be considering expanding its role in the Mediterranean and joining the EU Operation Sophia. However, this week, UK politicians dubbed the mission a failure and recommended not renewing it. Also this week, further news on the launch of a 'vigilante' force who will patrol the Mediterranean to keep track of migrants and NGO rescuers. I can't see that all going horribly wrong at all. No, sir. In the Black Sea, a recent GPS spoofing incident has led to a US MARAD alert and a number of questions as to who could have been behind it. I wonder… Regards, David Rider Editor |
