Fighting Piracy: Experiences in Southeast Asia and Off the Coast of Africa

Abstract

The recent surge in acts of maritime piracy in the waters off the Horn of Africa stands in sharp contrast to a steep decline of such acts in Southeast Asia. In this study, we compare the development of the problem of piracy in both Southeast Asia and the Horn of Africa. We find that four main elements contributed to the recent decline in piracy in Southeast Asia: U.S. hegemonic interests, existing and emergent international institutions, bilateral relations among regional actors, and the density of naval forces in the region. Unfortunately, not all of these conditions are present in the Horn of Africa. Thus, the problem of piracy in that region will require new and innovative solutions.

Insecure fisheries: How illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing affects piracy

“…Bangladesh, Malaysia, Somalia, Thailand) have weak material capabilities and develop strategies to improve their ability to monitor activities at sea. Malaysia created a coast guard (Maritime Enforcement Agency) in 2004 to patrol the Malaysian maritime zone and work cooperatively with the Royal Malaysian Navy (Farley and Gortzak, 2009: 9). Piracy events in Indonesia declined in response to coordinated sea patrols in the Strait of Malacca (Axbard, 2016: 159; Daxecker and Prins, 2021: 121).…”

An Economic Analysis of Maritime Piracy and its Control

“…Campanelli () points to a lack of a global hegemon, implicitly acknowledging failure in international cooperation that a hegemon might promote. In contrast, Bulkeley () and Farley and Gortzak () point to some success in multilateral cooperation in South East Asian waters, with the latter highlighting the important role of US leadership there.…”