Russia-Japan Anti-Piracy Naval Drills To Be Held In Gulf Of Aden In Late January

EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA's ESPS Canarias towed the vessel belonging to Somali Navy personnel back to the Somali shore.

Russian-Japanese anti-piracy naval exercises in the Gulf of Aden will take place in late January, and will involve, for the first time, a task force from Russia‘s Baltic Fleet, Admiral Alexander Nosatov, the commander of the Baltic Fleet, said Monday.

“The ships of the Baltic Fleet took part in similar exercises with other countries, but never with the Japanese Navy … Anti-piracy exercises are upcoming, they will start sometime after the 20th of January, the planning stage is underway,” Nosatov told reporters.

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Source: urdupoint.com

Japan to go ahead with Mideast naval mission on Friday

Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono will order Friday a destroyer and patrol planes of the Maritime Self-Defense Force to engage in an information-gathering mission in the Middle East, government sources said.

The mission, approved by the Cabinet late last year, is intended to help secure the safe passage of Japanese commercial ships through regional waters at a time when it remains uncertain a tense situation between the United States and Iran can be diffused.

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Source: english.kyodonews.net

Indian, French navies to carry out joint patrolling in Indian Ocean Region

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) India and France will soon launch a joint naval patrolling in the region to protect their strategic interests, including to check large scale illegal fishing, a top commander of the French Navy said on Monday.

Vice admiral Didier Maleterre, who is Joint Commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean region, also said that the two navies will ink an agreement early next year providing for sharing of classified information for better operational cooperation in the region.

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Source: outlookindia.com

Anti-Maritime Piracy Bill introduced in Lok Sabha

Elizabeth Roche

NEW DELHI : External affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Monday introduced a bill in Parliament that provides for stringent punishment, including death penalty, for those involved in piracy at sea.

The introduction of the bill comes days after some 18 Indians aboard a crude oil carrier were kidnapped off the coast of Nigeria. India is still negotiating the release of its nationals.

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Source: livemint.com

Indian media reports ‘pirate’ incident

The Times of India carried an article on Dec. 8th, which stated that Kandla Marine Police had opened a case against three unknown suspects who carried out ‘mid-sea piracy’ against the MV Jeetsagar on November 13th.

According to the report, three ‘pirates’ boarded the cargo ship off the Indian cosat, between Kandla and Navlakhi ports during the night.

“They boarded the ship and looted barrels containing 190 litres of diesel and a cellphone,” according to the paper, as well as threatening crew. Given the location and apparent threats made to the vessel before the incident, it would appear that this was the work of opportunists rather than a concerted piracy effort. The incident does not appear to have been reported to the IMB.

Japan plans to deploy escort ship, patrol aircraft in Arabian Sea in 2020

Nathan Gain

Japan plans to send one escort ship, one patrol aircraft and 270 sailors from the Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) to the northern part of the Arabian Sea to protect international merchant vessels, the Nikkei business daily said yesterday.

The Japanese government is expected to green light the deployment plan by the end of this year. The JMSDF assets will be deployed on a one-year mission that could be renewed on an annual basis. Japan said it would not join the U.S.-led coalition Sentinel the Pentagon is forming in the region with countries such as Australia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

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Source: navalnews.com

Japan notifies US of plan to send defence forces to Middle East

TOKYO — Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi on Tuesday informed the United States’ government that Tokyo plans to send defence forces to help safeguard waterways in the Middle East without joining a US-led maritime security coalition, Japanese officials said.

During phone talks between Motegi and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the two also pledged close co-operation on Middle East issues so as to ease tensions, which remain high amid a standoff between the US and Iran.

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Source: vietnamnews.vn

EU NAVFOR Somalia MPRAs Fly In Support of CTF-151 Focused Operation

This week, EU NAVFOR Somalia Operation ATALANTA’s German Maritime Patrol Reconnaissance Aircraft supported a multi-national counter-piracy operation led by Combined Task Force 151 (CTF 151) in the Gulf of Aden.

The assets involved in Focused Operation “King Crab” were from nine different nations, and included the Republic of Korea Ship (ROKS) Kang Gam Chan; the Japanese Ship (JS) Sazanami and the Royal Navy of Oman Vessel (RNOV) Al-Dhafreh in support.

The operation was a concentrated effort that spanned over four days and saw the counter-piracy task force and its partners undertake increased counter-piracy patrols and maritime engagement visits to merchant vessels and local dhows. The participating assets also partook in joint training and boarding exercises.

The exercises also reinforced the importance of information-sharing amongst the wide combination of counter-piracy partners.

“Ultimately we all have the same goal of promoting security and stability in the region to legitimate seafarers by defeating piracy and criminal attacks,” said Commander CTF 151, Rear Admiral Byeong-Ju Yu, ROKN. “Focused Operations such as King Crab greatly increase our ability to do this.”

Operation ATALANTA’s MPRAs have now returned to regular operations, patrolling the Indian Ocean, Gulf of Aden, Red Sea and Arabian Sea alongside other EU NAVFOR naval Assets.

Source: eunavfor.eu

Counter-Piracy Task Forces work together to deter piracy at sea

Warships from three nations have taken part in a counter-piracy surge operation, led by Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 in the Gulf of Aden. The operation was part of the Republic of Korea-led CTF 151’s mission to deter piracy and to contribute to wider maritime security in the region by focusing shared resources and assets over a prolonged period.

Collaboration between CTF 151, EUNAVFOR’s counter-piracy Task Force and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force ensured maximum response and support to the operation. A Japanese Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft also took part.

The ships ROKS Daejoyeong, ESPS Navarra and JS Asagiri worked together in conducting Maritime Awareness Calls to engage with local mariners and increase their understanding of the Combined Maritime Forces and CTF 151 role.

Captain Andrew Rose, Royal Navy, Deputy Commander of CTF151, said: “Operations such as this help to build partnerships and interoperability among the various stakeholders involved in counter-piracy. It also helps to build friendships and understanding amongst mariners to increase maritime security and suppress piracy.”

The long term aims of counter-piracy stakeholders are to deter and disrupt piracy by working together; to enhance information sharing and to engage with regional partners, the merchant shipping community and local mariners.

Source: combinedmaritimeforces.com

US, Japan Conduct Cooperative Naval Deployment in Strait of Malacca

By Ankit Panda

A U.S. Navy warship joined two Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) for a cooperative deployment in the strategic Malacca Strait on May 18.

USS William P. Lawrence, a U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, joined the MSDF’s Izumo-class helicopter carrier JS Izumo and Murasame-class destroyer JS Murasame in the Malacca Strait.

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Source: thediplomat.com