Today, at least 14 warships from more than 10 countries are on anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean near Somalia. They are far from enough considering the facts that Somalia's coastline is about 3,800 km long and that nearly 50,000 ships travel through Somali waters every year. Also, pirates can hijack a ship well before patrolling warships come to its rescue. For example, it only took them 16 minutes to seize the Sirius Star, the second largest oil tanker in the world.

Some Western scholars believe that the Bush administration's intervention in Somalia in the name of antiterrorism destroyed the war-torn nation's best opportunity for peace in decades. In March 2006, the Islamic Courts Union was about to put contending warlords under control and end Somalia's long-term anarchy when Ethiopia invaded the country with U.S. backing. As Ethiopian forces defeated the Islamic Courts Union, Somalia increasingly became engaged with Al Qaeda.

Defective social and moral values also contribute to the increase in pirate activity. In Somalia, a country that has been mired in civil war for 17 years, piracy is the most attractive career. Pirates are considered heroes and leaders that help lift others out of poverty. Labeling themselves "coast guards," they try to justify their acts by touting the deceptive rhetoric that they enforce laws for the incompetent Somali Government to prevent illegal fishing and dumping of toxic material in Somali waters.

An international effort

The international community has forged a strong consensus on combating piracy and strengthening crackdown efforts. Today, warships from NATO, Russia, India and other countries are patrolling Somali waters, while the European Union, South Korea, Japan, Iran and Yemen have shown a keen interest in joining them. China also sent warships after pirates tried to capture a Chinese cargo ship in December.

The international presence appears to be working. Statistics show that pirates' success rate declined from 53 percent in August 2008 to 31 percent in October 2008. The Russian missile frigate Neustrashimy (Fearless) succeeded in derailing two pirate attacks. In one of the operations, it collaborated with the British warship HMS Cumberland in repulsing an attempt by pirates to hijack a Danish cargo ship. India's INS Tabar claimed that it sank a pirate boat, which later proved to be a Thai fishing boat that pirates had seized.

Despite their unprecedented consensus, countries differ in their anti-piracy actions and motives. Russia and India are the most determined fighters, with the former vowing to pursue pirates both at sea and on land and the latter firing directly at pirate boats. Russia believes that the international community should launch amphibious attacks on pirate strongholds in Somalia in a bid to eradicate them. Analysts point out that Russia has adopted this harsh stance because it wants to display its power in retaliation against NATO's eastward expansion and America's deployment of anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe. It also intends to reopen a former Soviet naval base on a Yemeni island in the north of the Gulf of Aden to enhance its influence over Africa, the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean. Indian strategists have long regarded the Indian Ocean as India's sphere of influence. Indian naval forces now extend to the Red Sea and the Gulf region and further south along Africa's eastern coast to Fijian and Australian waters.

In contrast, NATO and the United States seem less enthusiastic. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer recently ruled out a military blockade of Somalia. U.S. General Bantz John Craddock, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said the alliance's mandate is solely to escort World Food Program shipments to Somalia and to conduct anti-piracy patrols, according to a report by the Associated Press. Regarding Russia's proposal to jointly attack the pirate strongholds, Craddock said, "That's far beyond what I've been tasked to do."

The United States has the largest naval forces in Somali waters. Struggling to cope with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and domestic problems, the United States has become less active in combating piracy than before. A Pentagon spokesperson said military operations cannot resolve the rampant piracy in the Horn of Africa. The Pentagon even shifted the blame to ship owners, saying that shipping companies have an obligation to protect their vessels. A spokesperson for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said making its vast patrol area piracy free is almost impossible.

Some analysts attribute American indifference to the fact that pirates have yet to hijack a U.S. ship. Washington may have some deeper strategic considerations as well. Although it announced plans to create an independent Africa Command a few years ago, the United States has not found a location for it. It may intentionally leave the pirates alone for the time being so that it will be able to enhance its military presence in and actual control over the Horn of Africa under the pretext of antiterrorism and combating piracy in the future.

In conclusion, rampant piracy off the Somali coast reflects the power struggle among major countries and the impact that countries with a power void like Somalia can have on the international community in the era of globalization. Efforts to address the issue hinge on Somalia's peace process. The piracy problem cannot be resolved unless Somalia has an effective central government and operates under the rule of law.