It may sound fantastical, but pirates in the Red Sea are no joke and threaten Egyptian national interests, writes Amin Howeidi* Pirates have been hijacking ships for ransom off the coast of Somalia, a country suffering from an acute lack of law and order. Such activity, taking place so near to Bab Al-Mandab, is a threat to our national security, to sea-lanes passing through the Suez Canal, and to our Somid oil line. The pirates usually prey on small ships, but their activities are becoming more serious with time. To confront this peril, it has been suggested that the Arab League should find a solution to the instability in Somalia and subsequently end the problem of piracy. Talk of long-term solutions! Somalia would take years to bring back to normal. In the meantime, the pirates would have inflicted more damage, grown in strength, and become a greater menace. That's why we need to intervene now and eliminate the peril once and for all. The EU has formed an anti-piracy force to deal with the situation. This is a good step that deserves our support, but it shouldn't stop us from taking our own precautionary measures. Egypt must form a joint ground-sea-air force to confront this peril and place it under a commander with adequate training to face the pirates. We cannot wait; we have to act now. The pirates depend on land bases to supply them with food and fuel. If we succeed in cutting off the lines of communication between their vessels and their land bases, half the job would be done. Our armed forces have several options. One is to attack pirate vessels directly, while monitoring the dozens of uninhabited islands in the Red Sea that they could be using as bases. Another is to cut off communication between pirate ships and land bases, while making sure not to get embroiled in the Somali conflict. A third option is to run patrols to safeguard maritime lines and Egyptian oil lines. The presence of ships flying the Egyptian flag in this region is a strong message to all. We can involve some friendly neighbouring countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Yemen, in this effort. And we must coordinate our activities with the EU force. The commander of the Egyptian force would have to reconnoitre the activities and bases of the pirates and keep the outlaws on the defensive, leaving them no chance to regroup or reflect. And we can issue repeated threats through the media, calling on the pirates to abandon their criminal activities. Precautions are better than remedies, so let's act now. We cannot leave the protection of our security in the hands of others. We have to rise to the occasion. This is our threat, and we have to do something about it. I hear some officials say that piracy is not a threat to Red Sea navigations or the Suez Canal. Their reassurances are hardly convincing. Just the fact that pirates are active on our doorstep is damaging enough, psychologically if nothing else. We need to send ships and restore confidence in our sea-lanes, and we have to do it immediately. We need to help Somalia get its act together, but this will take time. So let's put piracy on the top of our agenda. And let's remain ready to cooperate with the UN Security Council or EU as needed. * The writer is former defence minister and chief of General Intelligence.
