United Nations: Amid a spate of incidents of hijacking of ships by Somali pirates, India has sought strengthening of international cooperation to enhance maritime security and ensure sustainable use of marine resources.
Addressing the UN General Assembly, Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed expressed "serious concern" over increasing number of incidents of piracy and armed robberies particularly off the coast of Somalia and called for assisting the developing nations to enable them to participate in the maritime security.
After several incidents of hijacking off Somalia coast, UN Security Council recently adopted a resolution authorising all states to use their navies to check the menace.
Welcoming the measure, Ahamed, however, cautioned that the authorisation, which had become necessary due to particular situations in Somalia, should not be considered as establishing customary international law.
Pointing out that most armed robberies occur in internal and archipelagic waters, he said that law enforcement against armed robbers thus primarily falls within the domain of the coastal States concerned. "Therefore, enhancement of coastal States capacity to combat such crimes is very important."
In addition, he stressed the need for increased bilateral, multilateral and regional cooperation to combat piracy and armed robbery by coastal states. But such cooperation must be based on respecting the coastal States territorial integrity, sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law, he added.
Intervening in the debate on Law of Sea yesterday, he highlighted the need to address the issue of conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
