• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.23 no.7
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• pp.829-833
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• 2017

Recently, pirate incidents involving passing ships have been continuously occurring in the seas southwest of the Philippines, the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea. Pirates in these areas are members of the "Abu Sayyaf Group", which consists of Islamic armed rebels. They have abducted and confined 59 ship crews over the last 13 months to obtain money for group operations. The activities of these pirates, abducting and killing crews, have became a significant threat for marine security in the Sulu and Celebes Seas and for logistic activities in Asia. This study examines and analyzes 22 recent incidents in terms of ships gross tonnage, kind, nationality, incident time, location, etc. The identity of the Abu Sayyaf Group, which has been committing this piracy and represents the de facto power behind the actors responsible, is also unpacked, along with current challenges to resolving these conflicts. Finally, responses passing ships, shipping companies, related countries and the international community should make are proposed.

• Strategy21
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• s.46
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• pp.123-157
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• 2020

This research focuses on one important type of non-traditional threat, maritime piracy, and tries to supplement previous research from the perspective of military power, especially naval power. When considering the elements of military power, naval power is a core independent variable to explain piracy incidents. Indeed, naval power can play a key role in solving piracy problems, since naval power is the only legitimate force to respond to piracy in the sea. It is natural that well equipped and trained naval power in the sea increases the probability of capturing pirates, which leads to increasing the costs of piracy and decreasing its occurrences. In addition, since naval combatant ships have more impressive weapons than those of pirate boats, just the presence of naval combatant ships could serve to deter piracy incidents in the sea. The main purpose of this research is finding the effectiveness of large multinational naval efforts to deter piracy incidents in Africa. With this research purpose, I analyze 771 piracy incidents that occurred in African states from 2009 to 2014. Furthermore, I include all 33 coastal states in Africa regardless of the experiences of piracy incidents in order to avoid selection bias, which is very common in quantitative-based piracy incidents research. The dependent variable of this research is frequency of maritime piracy incidents for a country-year and the independent variable is the number of multi-national naval warships that operate near Somalia. With this analysis, I find the large number of multi-state naval combatant ships are negatively related to piracy incidents. In other words, as a main means to counteract piracy incidents, multi-state naval combatant ships are conducive to reduce piracy incidents near Somalia, since it increases costs (being captured) of conducting piracy.

• Strategy21
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• s.32
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• pp.192-221
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• 2013

In order to deal with the current economic crisis, the U.S. government, as a part of its austerity fiscal policy, implemented a budget sequester. The sequester will hit the U.S. defense budget the hardest, and as a result will most likely put the security of the international community in jeopardy. The U.S. will have to cut 46 billion dollars from its original 525 billon defense spending in 2013. And by the year 2022, will have to cut 486.9 billion dollars. Such an astronomical decrease in the U.S. defense spending will inevitably burden the friendly nations. According to recent studies, pirate related incidents in Somalia, where piracy is most active, has declined from its 226 incidents to 76 incidents per year in 2012, a 66% drop from previous years'. However, piracy threats as well as those related to firearms still remain and thus participants of anti-piracy operations, namely the U.S., U.K., France, Canada, NCC, EUNAVFOR, and NATO, are facing a problem of declining forces. Considering the current situation as well as rising expectations from the international community, Republic of Korea, a supporter of NCC's maritime security operation, not to mention its foremost duty of securing its sea, is at a stage to re-examine its operational picture. Such action will be a good opportunity for Republic of Korea to build the trust and live up to the international community's expectation. To quote from the network theory, although in relation to other friendly nations participating in the anti-piracy operation, Republic of Korea currently remains at a single cell level, this opportunity will certainly develop Korea to a 'node' nation in which power and information would flow into. Through this expansion of operational capability, Republic of Korea will be able to exert more influence as a more developed nation. Currently however, not only is the single 4,500 ton class destroyer deployed in Somalia a limited unit to further expand the scale and amount of force projection in the area, but also the total of six 4,500 ton class destroyers ROK feet possess is at a high fatigue degree due to standard patrolling operations, midshipman cruise and the RIMPAC exercise. ROK fleet therefore must consider expanding the number of ships deployed along with either deploying combat support ships or constructing logistics support site in the African region. Thus, by expanding its operational capabilities and furthermore by abiding to the rightful responsibilities of a middle power nation, Republic of Korea will surely earn its respect among the members of the international community.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.69-83
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• 1998

Sea transportation has long been a vital component of the transport systems of the world. The great majority of imports and exports to and enlarge their national merchant marines. This effort is meant partly to arrest earlier trends of having their trade carried by ships from outside the region and partly to promote regional integration and improve the national balance of payments. However, sea transportation has been exposed to various types of threats on the high seas, in coastal waters and in port areas. Piracy is any robbery or other violent action, for private ends and without authorization by public authority, committed on the seas. Because piracy has been regarded as an offense against the law of nations, the public vessels of any state have been permitted to seize a pirate ship, to bring it into port, to try the crew(regardless of their nationality or domicile), and, if found guilty, to punish them and to confiscate the ship. Piracy has occurred in all stages of maritime history. The increased size of merchant vessels, the improved naval patrolling of most ocean highways, the regular administration of most islands and land areas of the world, and the general recognition by governments of piracy as an international offense resulted in a great decline in piracy in the 19th and 20th centuries. Piracy has, however, occurred in the 20th century, and the practice of hijacking ships has developed into a new form of piracy. The number of incidents of sea piracy against ships reported was 229 in 1997. Since 1991, 1,051 such acts have been reported. The purpose of this research is to examine the origin and development of the piracy to understand the current situation of such violence on the seas. In addition, what should be done by international community will be presented to prevent the piracy in the future.