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Taiwan, U.S. in talks about piracy in Gulf of Aden: AIT

ROC Central News Agency

09/01/13 22:17:53

By Sofia Wu

Taipei, Jan. 13 (CNA) The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) issued a statement Tuesday saying it has discussed with Taiwan the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

The AIT statement also said the U.S. Navy has a responsibility to render assistance to any vessel in distress anywhere in the world that requests its assistance.

The AIT is the de facto U.S. embassy in Taipei in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

The AIT statement drew attention as it came a day after China's official Xinhua news agency reported that Chinese naval vessels escorted four merchant ships, including an oil tanker owned by a Taiwanese company, in the Gulf of Aden off Somalia in a special operation against pirate attacks.

The Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) clarified Tuesday that the Taiwanese tanker escorted by the Chinese naval fleet was in fact a Liberia-registered ship rented out to a South Korean company. The ship, named FormosaProduct Cosmos, is owned by Taiwan's Formosa Plastics Group.

AIT press officer Lawrence Walker confirmed in the statement that the AIT has discussed with Taiwan the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden.

Noting that piracy is a global crime, the statement said: "If any vessel is in distress anywhere in the world and requests assistance, the U.S. Navy has a responsibility to render assistance if feasible."

The statement also pointed out that information about Taiwan's plans to protect its commercial shipping should be referred to the Taiwanese authorities.

Walker said in an interview with the CNA that the U.S. Navy tends to offer assistance to any vessel in distress or attacked by pirates, if requested, in accordance with international maritime law and international custom.

With the Somali pirate issue becoming increasingly serious, Walker went on, AIT has been in talks with Taiwan over the issue and the institute's issuing of the statement has nothing to do with the Chinese navy's escorting of the Formosa Group ship.

Walker also stressed that the AIT only discussed assistance for Taiwanese ships in distress and did not offer naval escorts for Taiwanese commercial vessels.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the AIT statement and a ministry official said the government is still assessing the issue of protection for local ships from pirate attacks.

"As the issue involves diplomacy, national defense and relations across the Taiwan Strait, the government needs to make an overall review before making any decision and if necessary will seek the assistance of other countries," said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, MAC Vice Chairman Chao Chien-min stressed that the MAC was not involved in arranging for Chinese navy's escort of the Formosa Group ship.

Despite Chinese Foreign Ministry's offer to protect Taiwan ships from Somalian pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Chao said Taiwan is not prepared to accept China's offer to help and has no plans at the moment to negotiate the issue.

Beijing's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) notified its Taiwan counterpart -- the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) -- Dec. 12 that Taiwanese ships under attack or afraid of being attacked by Somalian pirates in the Gulf of Aden could request protection from China's naval task force through the SEF.

"There is currently no mechanism for processing requests by Taiwanese ships seeking escorts from Chinese warships in the region," Chao said at the time.

The SEF and ARATS are semi-official intermediary bodies authorized by Taipei and Beijing, respectively, to handle cross-strait interaction in the absence of official ties. The MAC oversees SEF operations.

China has deployed two of its navy's most advanced destroyers, along with 70 naval special forces soldiers, to the Gulf to protect Chinese and foreign ships in the waters off Somalia as they sail between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.

According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau, there were over 100 pirate attacks on vessels in the region last year alone, pushing up the insurance costs of shipping companies and bringing the pirates tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments.