Countering Sea Pirates: Indian Patrol Plane "Thwarts" Pirates in Arabian Sea

Times of India report Navy plane thwarts piracy bid in Arabian Sea

A naval Poseidon-8I long-range patrol aircraft managed to thwart a piracy attack on the high seas by flying over a merchant vessel which was being targeted by "a pirate mother

ship and two skiffs" around 800 nautical miles from Mumbai last week.

The P-8I, based at the naval air station INS Rajali at Arakkonam in Tamil Nadu, was on a routine surveillance mission over the Arabian Sea when it received distress calls from the merchant vessel, the Malta-flagged MV Sezai Selah, on the international Channel 16 distress radio on April 15.

Indian Navy P-8I

"The pirate mother ship and the two high-speed skiffs had come quite close to the merchant vessel. The P-8I immediately responded and made warning transmissions over Channel 16 while flying over the pirate boats...they got frightened and altered course to leave MV Sezai Selah alone," said an official.

Nicely done.

India's Navy: The Indian Carrier

Eric Wertheim, who edits the U.S. Naval Institute's Combat Fleets of the World , discusses some ramifications of India's fleet growth:

Let me express my condolences to the Indian Navy (and the families affected) on the loss of its sailors in the recent submarine explosion and fire. It is a sad reminder that sea service is a high risk profession.

India's Naval Growth

Conceptual view of INS Vikramaditya

There's a lot of discussion about China's naval programs and the prospect of s Chinese aircraft carrier taking to the seas sometime in the near future.

One Asian navy already operates a carrier, has trained carrier qualified pilots and a plan to grow its fleet by adding 50 modern ships to its force with a few years, including more carriers. Its goal is to have three operational carrier battle groups.

A summary report from NDTV on "How Indian Navy is expanding and modernising":

According to the report of the Standing Committee on Defence, tabled in Parliament in the last week of April, the Navy's short-term plan has the following objectives:

- Augment airborne maritime surveillance, strike, Anti-Submarine Warfare and air defence capability through induction of shore-based aircraft, integral helos, carrier based aircraft, space based AIS and UAVs, along with suitable weapons and sensors.

- Develop ASW (anti-submarine warfare) capability through induction of suitable platforms, weapons and sensors.

INS Viraat

- Build adequate standoff capability for sea lift and Expeditionary Operations to achieve desired power projection force levels, influence events ashore and undertake Military Operations Other Than War.

- Induct assets and develop suitable infrastructure to augment forces available for Low Intensity Maritime OperaINS Vtions (LIMO), protection of off- shore assets and Coastal Security framework.

- Induct force multipliers like satellite based global communications, reconnaissance and network enabled platforms to achieve Battle-Space dominance capability and perform network centric operations.

- Induct state-of-the-art equipment and specialised platforms for Special Forces to enhance niche capabilities to conduct Maritime Intervention Operations and other envisaged roles.

- Develop support infrastructure in island territories to support the planned force levels as well as support infrastructure for ships/submarines/aircrafts at ports and airbases.
***
Given the extensive plans presented to the Parliament, it is evident now that the Indian Navy is in the middle of its most ambitious expansion plan in the past three decades. Senior officers point out that the Indian Navy's perspective-planning in terms of 'force-levels' is now driven by a conceptual shift from 'numbers' of platforms - that is, from the old 'bean-counting' philosophy - to one that concentrates on 'capabilities'.

Naval headquarters says 50 modern ships are currently on order with majority being built in Indian shipyards. . .
***

INS Shivalik

Two stealth ships - INS Shivalik and INS Satpura - commissioned recently have been designed and built by public sector Mazgaon Docks Limited. The order books of India's oldest government-owned shipbuilders are full with the Navy wanting four more such guided missile frigates over the next five years.

There are more acquisitions in the pipeline. They include: four anti-submarine corvettes, four guided missile destroyers, three stealth frigates, six Scorpene submarines (being built at Mazgaon Docks with French technology and help) and two nuclear-powered submarines.

India's conventional diesel-powered submarine fleet is down to single digits right now but with the Russian-built Nerpa class nuclear submarine (leased for a decade) joining service earlier this year, the submarine arm has got a major boost. But the biggest force accretion in recent years has come in the form of Boeing Pi-8long range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) plane that gives the Indian Navy a reach and capability to mount surveillance way beyond its traditional areas of influence.
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According to its near-term plans, the Indian Navy has ambitions to become a three Battle Carrier Groups force by 2020.

While it's most prestigious acquisition-Russian Aircraft Carrier Admiral Gorshkov, to be renamed INS Vikramaditya - is likely to be inducted into the fleet latest by March 2013, one more carrier being built indigenously will most likely join the service by 2015.

Indian MiG-29

Currently India operates a lone Aircraft Carrier, INS Viraat, a British-built 1960s vintage ship that is on an extended lease of life thanks to the Navy's innovative engineers and planners.

Vikramaditya, once inducted, will give India the much needed edge in its maritime capabilities since it will come with the latest MiG-29 K series of aircraft. Indian Naval Aviators are already hard at work training themselves on the planes but away from the ship

MiG-29 photo from here.

Somali Pirates: Indian Navy Throws Them for a Loss

Reported at The Hindu : Navy foils Somali pirate attack off Gulf of Aden:

The Indian Navy patrolling the Gulf of Aden on Thursday thwarted a multi-boat attack by sea brigands on merchant vessels, apprehending 26 Somali pirates and confiscating arms and ammunition, in the fifth successful anti-piracy operation since September.

At 9.25 a.m. on Thursday, navy personnel aboard warship INS Sukanya spotted a group of five suspicious boats speedily approaching the merchant vessels of her group.

“The warship immediately altered (its direction) towards the suspicious vessels and challenged them. On seeing the resolve evident in the warship’s action and probably mindful of the reputation for resolute action that the Indian Navy justly enjoys in such deployments, the pirate skiffs reversed course and tried to flee the area,” Captain Manohar Nambiar, Chief Public Relations Officer, Defence, said.

While two of them managed to escape, INS Sukanya successfully intercepted the remaining three boats and, in a well-practiced and professionally executed boarding-and-search action, nabbed 26 Somali pirates with six AK 47 rifles, 12 magazines and about 300 rounds of ammunition.

This is the fifth successful anti-piracy operation conducted by INS Sukanya in the course of her ongoing patrol mission in the Gulf of Aden that commenced in September, the Navy said.

More on the Sukanya-class of offshore patrol vessels here.

Somali Pirates: Freed Ship Now Sinking Off Oman

Released by pirates, out of fuel and now, the Egyptian merchant ship MV Suez is sinking:

The Panama flagged Egyptian merchant ship MV Suez has started sinking about 80miles off Oman's southern port of Salalah, Kutaiba Al Hatmy, Corporate Communications Manager at the Salalah Port Services, told Gulf News on Monday.

"The crew were transferred to Pakistan naval frigate PNS Babur before MV Suez began tilting," the Salalah Port Services official said.

He said that there was no further news from the owners of the shi, Red Sea Navigation Co, who seemed to have abandoned the 17,300 DWT vessel.

He informed that efforts to send a tug boat, Hasik, from Salalah did not work out after MV Suez, released by Somali pirates after ten-month in captivity, ran out of fuel on its way to the Omani port in the south.

All 22 crew abandoned MV Suez on Sunday evening and boarded the Pakistani naval frigate PNS Babur from where they were due to be picked by F-22P class frigate PNS Zulfiquar.

The escort duties fell to the Pakistani Navy after some sort of disagreement with an Indian naval vessel. See here:

The diplomatic squabble over the “brush-off” between an Indian and a Pakistani warship in the Indian Ocean this week — with both countries lodging protests against each other — appears to have been triggered by the actions of an unsure Indian government that possibly reacted to shrill news TV reports.

The unseemly row has the potential of becoming an irritant in the upcoming foreign secretary level talks.

India pulled the INS Godavari, which was in the region on a routine international anti-piracy mission, off its regular duty to the aid of the MV Suez, which had six Indian crew on board, leading to a mid-ocean scrap with the Pakistani PNS Babur, with the two warships brushing past each other.

Pictures and videos of the encounter — which have been shared with Pakistan — show that Babur was deliberately tailing the Godavari so close that it brushed past the Indian warship’s aft. As the Pakistani warship — which was described by government sources as a “history-sheeter” with two earlier incidents of risky behaviour at sea — tangled with the INS Godavari, its crew shouted anti-India slogans.

Pakistan assert the Indian naval vessel was at fault and have filed their own protest.

I have not yet seen the videos allegedly passed to Pakistan by the Indians.

Somali Pirates: Indian Navy Reports Capturing 61 Pirates

Indian Navy: 61 Somali pirates caught:

On the night of 12th March 11, at about 2100 hrs INS Kalpeni intercepted a pirate mother vessel called Vega 5 in the Arabian sea about 600 nautical miles west of India. 13 crew members were rescued and 61 pirates have been nabbed.

On 11th Mar 11, a Naval Dornier while responding to a call from MV Vancouver Bridge under pirate attack, located Vega 5 a pirate mother vessel in the area. Seeing the naval aircraft, the pirates immediately aborted their piracy attempt and the mother vessel attempted to escape from the area. Whilst IN Maritime Patrol Aircraft continuously tracked the pirate mother vessel Vega 5, Indian Naval Ships Khukri ( a missile corvette) and Kalpeni (a Water Jet Fast Attack Craft) already deployed for anti piracy patrol, were diverted to intercept and investigate Vega 5.

Vega 5 (IN photo)

On the night of 12 Mar 11 INS Kalpeni closed Vega 5. In the darkness, the pirate mother vessel launched two skiffs which fired at Kalpeni. INS Kalpeni responded with limited firing. Thereafter it was observed that a fire had broken out on Vega 5 (mother vessels are known to carry additional fuel drums to fuel the skiffs). Personnel were also seen jumping overboard. INS Kalpeni in conunction with INS Khukri recovered 74 personnel comprising 61 pirates and 13 members of the original crew of the fishing vessel. Preliminary investigations revealed that the pirates were carrying about 80 to 90 small arms/rifles and a few heavier weapons (likely to be RPGs).

Indian naval personnel and captive pirates (IN photo)

Vega 5, a Mozambique flagged fishing vessel was hijacked on 28 Dec 10 and has thereafter been used as 'mother vessel' for piracy operations. This vessel had been a risk to international shipping for last four months and has carried out several attacks.

Naval ships and aircraft are presently in the area searching for any other fishermen/pirates.

UPDATE: Arrest of these pirates gives rise to threat from at least one one other Somali pirate:

A self-described pirate in Somalia who gave his name as Bile Hussein said the arrests will lead to "trouble" for Indian sailors and ships.

"They better release them, considering their people traveling in the waters, or we shall jail their people like that," he said. "We are first sending a message to the Indian government of releasing our friends in their hands or else they have to be ready for their citizens to be mistreated in the near future."

Idiot.

Port Security: Indian Navy Head Worries About Containers

Reported here:

Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta Wednesday said terrorists may use shipping containers for the movement of nuclear weapons and called for augmented safety measures at ports.

"Container is the most likely means for the terrorist organisations for illegal transporting of nuclear weapons. Hence, the serious concerns about container security," Mehta told reporters at a seminar on "Port Sector - Developments and Security".

He said the country from where a container leaves should issue safety certificates.

"Countries should certify that whichever container leaves the port is safe," Mehta added.

The fear that terrorists would use the sea route to strike became fact on Nov 26 when 10 armed terrorists slunk into Mumbai on boats to begin three days of mayhem that killed some 170 people.

UPDATE: A connected article: India's largest port improving security:

We are working on an integrated security mechanism. As a part of this approach, we plan to install one scanner for cargo-scanning as well as having our own bomb detection and disposal unit here," said Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) chairman SS Hussain.

Somali Pirates: Indian Navy takes out "Mother Ship"

Reported here:

An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, yet more violence in the lawless seas where brigands are becoming bolder and more violent.
***
multicoalition naval force has increased patrols in the region, and scored a rare success Tuesday when the Indian warship, operating off the coast of Oman, stopped a ship similar to a pirate vessel mentioned in numerous piracy bulletins. The Indian navy said the pirates fired on the INS Tabar after the officers asked it to stop to be searched.

"Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers," said a statement from the Indian navy. Indian forces fired back, sparking fires and a series of onboard blasts — possibly due to exploding ammunition — and destroying the ship.

They chased one of two speedboats that had been shadowing the larger ship, and which fled when it sank. One was later found abandoned. The other escaped, according to the statement.

Somali Pirates: India wants UN leadership of anti-pirate patrols after Indian ship denied immediate protection

Global politics rears its head in the battle against Somali pirates now that India wants UN force off Somalia after its ship is refused protection:

Just days after foiling two attempted hijacks by heavily armed sea pirates off the coast of Somalia, India has called for a United Nations peacekeeping force to patrol the increasingly dangerous Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea.The Indian call - made Thursday at the twice-yearly Council meeting of the International Maritime Organization in London - is aimed at bringing current disjointed security patrols of individual countries under a unified command.

Senior shipping sources said the move follows a recent refusal by a Western naval patrol to protect an Indian merchant ship that felt “vulnerable” to attacks on what is perhaps the world’s most dangerous stretch of water.

“When the Indian captain asked for protection, he was asked, firstly, about which flag he was flying, then about the nationality of his crew, and finally about which cargo he was carrying,” said Shipping Corporation of India Chairman S. Hajara.

When informed that it was an Indian ship with Indian seafarers, the captain was told that he could not be provided immediate protection, Hajara, who is part of the Indian delegation to the IMO Council meetings, told IANS.

The 950-km stretch, straddled by Yemen on the north and Somalia on the south, is part of the vital Suez shipping route and patrolled by a multinational anti-terror naval task force comprising warships from the US, Britain, Germany and other countries.

India chose to stay out of the force because it is not under UN control and its call for UN leadership and coordination at the IMO Thursday received the backing of a large number of countries, said Shipping Secretary A.P.V.N. Sarma.

You know, international cooperation doesn't always have to have UN sanction unless you are looking for "top cover."

Somali Pirates: Indian Navy Prevents Ship Capture

Reported as Indian warship fights off pirates in Gulf of Aden:

An Indian warship on Tuesday prevented two merchant vessels from being hijacked by heavily armed pirates in the Gulf of Aden and escorted both ships to safety, the navy said.

Pirates on power-boats attacked Saudi Arabia-registered merchant vessel "MV Timaha," and half an hour later a second group tried to board a 38,000-tonne bulk carrier owned by India's Great Eastern Shipping Co, the navy said.

"Both the ships had crossed the Suez Canal and were a short distance away from Aden when the Saudi vessel was attacked by these boats, each carrying up to five pirates each," a top naval official told AFP.

"Our frigate patrolling the area responded to a distress call by "MV Timaha" and sent an attack helicopter carrying commandos which opened fire while the pirates were making repeated attempts to board the Saudi ship," he said.

"While all this was on, the Indian cargo ship was attacked within the next 30 minutes," said the official, who did not want to be named.

Russian ship passes Suez on anti-piracy mission; Indians not welcomed by Somalia?

After several weeks of seemingly breathless anticipation by the media, a Russian ship passes Suez on anti-piracy mission:

A Russian warship was moving through the Suez Canal Tuesday to join military vessels from other nations protecting shipping in pirate-infested waters off Somalia, a navy official said.

Russian Navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo said the guided missile frigate Neustrashimy (Intrepid) will join warships from other nations surrounding an arms-laden Ukrainian
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"The Russian ship will fulfill the task of minimizing the threat of pirate attacks," Dygalo said in a statement. He added that it will "join the action of foreign navy ships currently controlling the situation around the ship."
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Dygalo said that the level of cooperation between the Neustrashimy and foreign warships in the area -"from coordination of actions to concrete practical measures" - will be determined by Russian diplomats and military officials.

In the meantime, the presence of an Indian navy ship stirs up a bit of controversy with the representative of the putative government of Somali, as set out here:

“India has no legal framework to order its navy to intervene in the waters of Somalia because there is no agreement between India and Somalia and also the Resolution of 1817 doesn’t allow them,” says Ambassador Ebyan Mahamed Salah.

India has once held back from signing the agreement presumably because it was felt there was no need but the hijacking of the Stolt Valor and the risk to other Indian merchant ships and sailors has put a different complexion to the problem.

The navy is now reported to be considering anti piracy patrols off the Gulf of Aden in concert with other countries in the region. These patrols could be coordinated with the patrols being carried out by the US led task force now in the area.

An Indian dhow with 13 sailors was recently nabbed by pirates, but may have also been freed by Somali militia, as set out here:

Armed Somali men, helping out coastguards in the African waters, have managed to free an Indian cargo ship with 13 sailors on board, after it was hijacked by pirates off the northern coast of Somalia.

Four of the armed pirates, who had come in speedboats to hijack the Indian cargo vessel, have been captured in the encounter, a senior minister from Somalia was quoted as saying.

There were no reports of any injuries.

Earlier on Tuesday, an official of the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur had said that pirates seized the ship which was en-route to Somalia and hijacked it south of Socotra island over the weekend.
***
The Indian government had dispatched a powerful stealth warship to the area as momentum has been growing for coordinated international response to the spate of hijacking being unleashed by Somali pirates using speed boats.

According to this, the U.S. is "keen" on India's involvement:

With India rushing its warship to Gulf of Aden after pirates attacked cargo ships carrying its nationals, the US says it is keen to partner with New Delhi to jointly patrol the high seas off the African coast to deter the armed outlaws.

"The Indian ships presence in Gulf of Aden will provide both of us an opportunity to work together (against pirates) and we are looking forward to it," said US Navy Captain Kenneth J Norton on board USS Ronald Reagan, the world's largest warship, as it sailed in the Arabian Sea about 130 miles off Goa coast.

Washington's views on Indian warship patrolling the region comes in the wake of over 35 incidents of piracy attacks on cargo ships in Gulf of Aden in the last three months.

NATO in the Indian Ocean

Interesting take on the NATO deployment to the shores of Somalia here from the Asia Times:

NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General John Craddock, acknowledged that the mission furthers the alliance's ambition to become a global political organization. He said, "The threat of piracy is real and growing in many parts of the world today, and this response is a good illustration of NATO's ability to adapt quickly to new security challenges." *** By any reckoning, NATO's naval deployment in the Indian Ocean region is a historic move and a milestone in the alliance's transformation. Even at the height of the Cold War, the alliance didn't have a presence in the Indian Ocean. Such deployments almost always tend to be open-ended. *** The NATO deployment has already had some curious fallout. In an interesting coincidence, on October 16, just as the NATO force was reaching the Persian Gulf, an Indian Defense Ministry spokesman announced in New Delhi, "The [Indian] government today approved deployment of an Indian naval warship in the Gulf of Aden to patrol the normal route followed by Indian-flagged ships during passage between Salalah in Oman and Aden in Yemen. "The patrolling is commencing immediately." The timing seems deliberate. Media reports indicated that the government had been working on this decision for several months. Like NATO, Delhi also acted fast when the time came, and an Indian ship has already set sail. Delhi initially briefed the media that the deployment came in the wake of an incident of Somali pirates hijacking a Japanese-owned merchant vessel on August 15, which had 18 Indians on board. But later, it backtracked and gave a broader connotation, saying, "However, the current decision to patrol African waters is not directly related [to the incident in August]." The Indian statement said, "The presence of an Indian navy warship in this area will be significant as the Gulf of Aden is a major strategic choke point in the Indian Ocean region and provides access to the Suez Canal through which a sizeable portion of India's trade flows." Indian officials said the warship would work in cooperation with the Western navies deployed in the region and would be supplemented with a larger force if need and that it would be well equipped. But Delhi obfuscated the fact that the Western deployment will be under the NATO flag and any cooperation with the Western navies will involve the Western alliance. Given the traditional Indian policy to steer clear of military blocs, Delhi is understandably sensitive. *** The operations hold the potential to shift India's ties with NATO to a qualitatively new level. The US has been encouraging India to forge ties with NATO as well as play a bigger role in maritime security affairs. The two countries have a bilateral protocol relating to cooperation in maritime security, which was signed in 2006. It says at the outset, "Consistent with their global strategic partnership and the new framework for their defense relationship, India and the United States committed themselves to comprehensive cooperation in ensuring a secure maritime domain. In doing so, they pledged to work together, and with other regional partners as necessary." The Indian Navy command has been raring to go in the direction of close partnership with the US Navy in undertaking security responsibilities far beyond its territorial waters. The two navies have instituted an annual large-scale annual exercise in the Indian Ocean - the Malabar exercises. This year's exercises are currently under way along India's western coast.

Who knew that the failed state of Somalia could possibly bring people together?

Somalia: Indian Navy to guard Indian ships against pirates

The Indian navy is joining the anti-pirate parade of warships in the Gulf of Aden, as set out here:

In the wake of several pirate attacks on merchant vessels being reported along the African coast recently, India on Thursday decided to send its warships "immediately" to the Gulf of Aden for patrolling and to escort container vessels flying the Indian Tricolour.

"The government today approved deployment of Indian Naval warship in Gulf Aden to patrol the normal route followed by Indian flagships during passage between Salalah in Oman and Aden in Yemen," a Defence Ministry spokesperson announced in New Delhi.

"The patrolling is commencing immediately," he said, but in the same vein claimed the ship was yet to sail from the Indian shores to Gulf of Aden along the Horn of Africa.

Initially, India would deploy only one of its warships in the region but it could be increased later on a need basis, the spokesperson said.

The government's decision comes close on the heels of Somalian pirates hijacking a Japanese-owned merchant vessel MV Stolt Valor with 18 Indians among the 22 sailors on board on August 15 this year.

It's going to get crowded with warships. Who'd have thought?

Gulf of Aden: India may join in anti-pirate patrol

Reported here:

The Indian navy is considering patrolling areas like the Gulf of Aden in collaboration with other navies in the future to curb incidents of piracy in the region, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sureesh Mehta said today.

"We are looking at that (patrolling the Gulf near the between Middle East Asia and Africa) and to make partnerships with other navies..."

Somalia: Indian Navy to Provide Food Escort?

Indian Navy awaits government nod to escort ships to Somalia:

The Indian Navy is awaiting the government’s nod to provide escort to ships carrying life-saving assistance to Somalia under the aegis of the United Nations, a senior naval official said.“The navy’s request to protect the UN shipments from pirates is with the government. The Indian Navy is ready and keen to provide its assistance in the UN food programme as it will enhance our credentials as a professional navy in the region,” the senior navy official told IANS Thursday.

The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) is responding to urgent humanitarian needs in Somalia. Over 2.4 million Somalis rely on food aid, of which 80 percent arrives by sea.

Food supplies are urgently needed in Somalia but danger posed by pirates has made delivery difficult by land and sea routes. In July the WFP had appealed to naval powers to help protect its ships carrying life-saving assistance from pirate attacks, saying that as many as two million Somalis could go hungry without this essential help.

“We cannot claim to be a power with global impact if we do not take up responsibilities. We are ready to protect the ships passing through the Mozambique Channel (between Madagascar and South east Africa) which is plagued by piracy,” the official added.

Good for India, which owns the world's fifth largest navy.

Maritime Civil Affairs learning from Army

As reported here, a great use of an existing knowledge base in furtherance of mission accomplishment:

A five-man Maritime Civil Affairs Team from the Maritime Civil Affairs Group at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va., trained with the Army’s 486th Civil Affairs Battalion, assigned to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa, in villages located in the northern region of Djibouti, Sept. 20-Oct. 18.

The team set out to give people a face to go with their recently established group, while also gaining knowledge on how civil affairs teams function in real environments. The MCAG was officially stood up in March by the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command and deploys small groups of Maritime Civil Affairs Teams to different countries to aid U.S. Naval forces by conducting civil military missions in a coastal and riverine environment.

The mission of the Navy and Army’s civil affairs teams are similar, however the MCATs additionally focus on commercial port operations, marine and fishing resources, and harbor and channel construction and maintenance.

“We’re hoping to learn from the Army’s civil affairs team since they’ve been in business for a long time and have already established a standard of operation that we hope to draw from and adapt to the Navy’s mission,” said Lt. Rayburn Massiah, MCAT leader.
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While the MCAT was in Djibouti, they were able to participate in a Medical Civic Action Program that was conducted by the 350th Civil Affairs Command in the town of Obock. The team assisted where they were needed and gained hands-on experience at the MEDCAP.

“There’s only so much you can learn in a classroom about civil affairs,” said Senior Chief Electronics Technician Scott Huss, team chief for the MCAT. “Being able to participate in an actual mission shows us how things are done in the real world.”

Maritime civil affairs missions provide the opportunity for naval, joint forces and civilians in operational areas to work together.

“The 486th has provided excellent support to us throughout our mission,” said Operations Specialist 1st Class Weston McAuslan. “We really appreciate the help and guidance they have given us.”

The MCAT members learned how to nominate potential projects for a village, conduct village assessments and build relationships with locals. They also attended meetings with the Ministry of Education to discuss the prioritizing of village projects.

“I really like being a part of something where you can see the effects of the help we’re giving,” said McAuslan. “With the diversity of the work we do, we can go everywhere and work with different people and services. But our mission is always the same; we are giving these people the tools that build confidence in their abilities to help themselves and their neighbors.”

Enlisted members of the team completed a minimum of nine weeks of training, with officers undergoing 12 weeks of training, which includes the Maritime Civil Affairs Qualification Course and the Expeditionary Combat Skills Course. Maritime civil affairs forces also receive training in cultural awareness, language, communications, small boat operations, advanced marksmanship and Combat Life Saving.

MCAG team missions include humanitarian assistance and disaster relief; non-combatant evacuation operations, refugee operations, assistance with restoration of local infrastructure in the aftermath of military operations or natural/man-made disasters, and regional engagement activities intended to build support for the U.S. government.

Great idea and good for both services for making it happen...

Photo caption:

Operations Specialist 1st Class Weston McAuslan and Senior Chief Electronics Technician prepare a pair of adaptive eyewear prescription glasses for a local at a Medical Civic Action Program held in Obock, Djibouti. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Regina L. Brown (RELEASED).

War games end in Indian Ocean

Time to to the Lessons Learned and get ready for the next exercise - as set out in Navies take stock as Indian Ocean war games end:

Nearly 30 ships, 200 fighter jets and a nuclear-powered submarine participated in the event to practice anti-piracy and anti-gun-running drills off the Andaman island chain.

"It was one hell of a bang and a super experience," said the pilot of an US F-16 jet, recalling a low-level "attack" he carried out with one of India's participating Russian-built supersonic fighter jets.

Exercise Malabar begins

Reported as Five-nation naval exercise begins:

The navies of the United States, Australia, India, Japan and Singapore have begun a massive naval exercise, codenamed "Malabar", in the Bay of Bengal.

Thirty-four ships and submarines from the five countries have joined the six-day exercise, about 100 nautical miles off the Andaman archipelago.

Some analysts say the war games are an attempt by these countries to contain China's growing power.

The participants deny this, but Beijing has expressed its concerns.

"This will perhaps be the biggest ever peace-time joint naval exercise in Asia," Indian navy spokesman Captain Vinay Garg said.
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Two super-carriers of the US navy - USS Nimitz and USS Kitty Hawk of the Pacific fleet - will be joined by India's lone aircraft carrier, the INS Viraat, in the exercise.

A US nuclear submarine, USS Chicago, is also taking part.

India has denied claims that the exercise is aimed at China. "This is simply directed at ensuring security of the sea lanes of communication," Deputy Defence Minister Pallam Raju said.

The six-day exercise has been fiercely opposed by India's left-wing parties, who see it as "India's growing subservience" to the US.

Also covered here:

A total of 27 ships and submarines from the United States, Australia, Japan and Singapore joined seven from India in the Bay of Bengal, at the northwestern entrance to the Malacca Strait, for the six-day exercises.
***
Some 160 fighter planes backed by reconnaissance aircraft, will be constantly in the air during the wargames.

The exercises will also touch the Malacca Strait, a 805-kilometre channel between Malaysia and Sumatra that accounts for 60 per cent of the world's maritime energy transport.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, across the Indian Ocean, another naval exercise reported here:

It is the first time that South Africa's new submarine and two of the four new frigates -- the SAS Amatola and the SAS Isandlwana -- have been involved in a combined exercise.

Other South African Navy ships as well as aircraft of the South African Air Force will also be involved in taking on Nato's Maritime Group One.

Besides the Portuguese, frigates from Canada and The Netherlands as well as ships from Germany, the United States and Denmark also form part of the Nato flotilla.

The Nato group is travelling around the African continent making port calls at several African nations, but it is only with the SA Navy that it is conducting full naval exercises.

"It is expected that these exercises will inspire mutual confidence and respect between Nato maritime forces and the South African Navy, allowing for even greater cooperation in possible future combined exercises or operations," a Nato statement on the exercise explains.

"The deployment aims to demonstrate the alliance's continuing ability to respond to emerging crisis situations on a global scale and foster close links with regional navies and other maritime organisations," Nato said.

But while the exercise might have a conventional naval warfare flavour to it, it also includes boarding of ships and other exercises that would help the South Africans and Nato cope with the real threat in African waters these days.

Piracy, armed robbery and terrorism activities on the high seas are increasingly becoming a threat.

The International Maritime Bureau reports that piracy and armed robbery increased by 37% in the second quarter of 2007 compared with that of 2006.

The total number of attacks in the first six months of 2007 was 126, many in African waters.

In Nigeria, 19 incidents have been reported, including the boarding of 15 vessels and one hijacking. Forty crew members were kidnapped and 24 taken hostage.

In Somalia, 17 incidents were reported. Eight vessels were hijacked and 85 crew members taken hostage.

Another sign of the increasing importance of a security operation in African waters comes from the US Navy, which plans from 2008 to have a "big-deck" presence in the Gulf of Guinea.

"My aspiration is to have a ship there 365 days a year," said Admiral Harry Ulrich, commander of US Naval Forces Europe and Africa.

The South African Navy has long held the position that its new fleet would be used for anti-piracy and anti-poaching operations.

The training with Nato is its first big joint operation to discover how this might be carried out

UPDATE: For "pk" the arrow points to the Gulf of Guinea. You know, where all that oil from Nigeria heads out to sea...(click on the map to enlarge)

India: Sea lanes

An opinion piece praising India's growing sea power focus and cooperation with friendly nations here:

The threat to sea lanes and lines of communication, commerce and crude oil is more real than ever before. What the Royal Navy alone could have done in the 20th century can no longer be resorted to by even the American navy. Today’s navies need to pool their expertise and resources to deal with the common threat from terrorists and fundamentalists. The Indian navy is on the right track, politically motivated protests notwithstanding. A land-fixated elephant can never understand the depth and the dangers of the sheet of water that constitutes two-thirds of the earth’s surface.

UPDATE: Not to be out done by the Navy, the Indian Air Force is thinking big:

he IAF is formulating a new war doctrine in tune with its objective to transform the force into a true aerospace power with "potent strategic reach" spreading from the Persian Gulf right up to Malacca Strait.

A "select" team of officers, led by IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Fali Homi Major, had already prepared a "first draft" of this new airpower doctrine. "It will undergo a few revisions before it is finalised," said a source. "The SOPs (standard operating procedures) and 'flying orders' for the entire IAF will follow from the new doctrine, which will also dwell upon the application of military power," he added.

The doctrine will revolve around the primacy of airpower in "shaping" or "customising" the battlefield in such a way that the Army, as also the Navy, can carry out its designated tasks. The world's fourth largest air force after US, Russia and China, the IAF visualises itself as "a global player" in the years ahead. Eventually, it hopes to become "an expeditionary force" on the lines of US air force, with the capability to rapidly deploy and operate across the globe.

The doctrine will also incorporate the lessons learnt in recent wars like the US-led attacks in Afghanistan and Iraq, which saw "smart bombs" like high-accuracy JDAMs (joint direct attack munitions) being used in all-weather conditions.

"Potent strategic reach".....hmmm.

China in the Indian Ocean

A couple of articles discussing the Chinese thrust into the Indian Ocean, starting with China: Boosting Maritime Capabilities in the Indian Ocean:

In the recent years, a new great game has begun between India and China to bring the Maldives and Sri Lanka under their respective sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean Region (I.O.R.). After Myanmar and Bangladesh, to complete the "arc of influence" in South Asia, China is determined to enhance military and economic cooperation with the Maldives and Sri Lanka. China's ambition to build a naval base at Marao in the Maldives, its recent entry into the oil exploration business in Sri Lanka, the development of port and bunker facilities at Hambantota, the strengthening military cooperation and boosting bilateral trade with Colombo, are all against Indian interests and ambitions in the region.

Although China claims that its bases are only for securing energy supplies to feed its growing economy, the Chinese base in the Maldives is motivated by Beijing's determination to contain and encircle India and thereby limit the growing influence of the Indian Navy in the region. The Marao base deal was finalized after two years of negotiations, when Chinese Prime minister Zhu Rongzi visited Male' in May 2001. Once Marao comes up as the new Chinese "pearl," Beijing's power projection in the Indian Ocean would be augmented.

Recently, Sri Lanka allocated an exploration block in the Mannar Basin to China for petroleum exploration. This allocation would connote a Chinese presence just a few miles from India's southern tip, thus causing strategic discomfort. In economic terms, it could also mean the end of the monopoly held by Indian oil companies in this realm, putting them into direct and stiff competition from Chinese oil companies. At Hambantota, on the southern coast of Sri Lanka where Beijing is building bunkering facilities and an oil tank farm. This infrastructure will help service hundreds of ships that traverse the sea lanes of commerce off Sri Lanka. The Chinese presence in Hambantota would be another vital element in its strategic circle already enhanced through its projects in Pakistan, Myanmar and Bangladesh.

It is Sri Lanka's strategic location that has prompted Beijing to aim for a strategic relationship with Colombo. Beijing is concerned about the growing United States presence in the region as well as about increasing Indo-U.S. naval cooperation in the Indian Ocean. China looks at using the partnership with Sri Lanka to enhance its influence over strategic sea lanes of communication from Europe to East Asia and oil tanker routes from the Middle East to the Malacca Straits. China has been consolidating its access to the Indian Ocean through the Karakoram Highway and Karachi, through the China-Burma road to Burmese ports and through the Malacca Straits, especially once they have established their supremacy over the South China Sea.

China's Indian Ocean policy has been clearly influenced by its ties with the other major powers. Its interest in the Indian Ocean started partly as a reaction to its perception that increasing United States presence there was aimed at encircling China. The policy has also been directly linked to its problems with New Delhi. China feels India is facilitating the American presence in the Indian Ocean region as a means of countering Beijing.

And following with Wary of Beijing, US views India as a 'natural partner':

Wary of China's long-term intentions and its rapidly expanding military capabilities, the US sees India as a 'natural partner' in the region and is keen to further enhance 'interoperability' with the Indian armed forces.
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Beijing has already expressed its anger at what it feels is an emerging quadrilateral strategic arrangement - as exemplified by the Malabar naval war games scheduled between September 4-9 in the Bay of Bengal - to ‘contain’ it in the Asia-Pacific region.

In the backdrop of vitriolic protests by the Left against the Indo-US civil nuclear deal as well as the Malabar exercise, the UPA government chose to keep Admiral Keating's visit a low-profile one.

But the US four-star general, who commands all American forces in Asia-Pacific, was more forthcoming. While admitting Malabar was a reflection of the "shared interests" of US, India, Japan and Australia, he said, "We want to minimise the potential areas of misunderstanding and confusion between all of us and China."

"Let me emphasise there is no effort on our part or any of these other countries to isolate China or put Beijing in a closet," Admiral Keating told reporters.