ID :
41814
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 04:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/41814
The shortlink copeid
(2nd LD) Cabinet backs naval operations in waters off Somalia
(ATTN: RECASTS lead, 3rd para to update; ADDS comment in 4th para; MODIFIES stats in
last para)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government
plan to send a naval ship and forces to waters off Somalia to protect South
Korean vessels from pirates operating off the coast of the East African nation,
government officials said.
A weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Myung-bak at the
presidential office ratified the government plan to dispatch a Korean Navy
destroyer and about 310 troops to the sea off the Gulf of Aden, said the
officials.
The Ministry of Defense said later in the day it will present a motion to the
parliament later this week to allow the naval operation to begin as early as next
month.
"We will convoy South Korea-registered vessels, focusing on those less capable of
self-defense," Jeon Jei-guk, who oversees defense policy at the ministry, said in
a briefing.
If the motion is ratified by the National Assembly, the South Korean Navy will be
involved in overseas operations for the first time in the nation's military
history.
The U.S., a number of European nations, Russia, India and China have already sent
naval ships to the Somali coast, seeking to strengthen international efforts to
safeguard some of the world's most important shipping lanes. Japan is also
considering sending ships there.
The South Korean destroyer and naval forces, if dispatched to Africa, could
operate both independently and in conjunction with the international naval
forces, said the officials.
Last month, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution
authorizing international land operations against "audacious, armed pirates"
sheltering in Somalia. The resolution, co-sponsored by South Korea, Belgium,
France, Greece and Liberia, authorized the states to "take all necessary measures
that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at
sea."
According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau, approximately 100
vessels were attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia last year, and 40 of
them ended up being hijacked. Some 460 South Korean vessels pass through the Gulf
of Aden every year.
(END)
last para)
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Cabinet on Tuesday approved a government
plan to send a naval ship and forces to waters off Somalia to protect South
Korean vessels from pirates operating off the coast of the East African nation,
government officials said.
A weekly Cabinet meeting presided over by President Lee Myung-bak at the
presidential office ratified the government plan to dispatch a Korean Navy
destroyer and about 310 troops to the sea off the Gulf of Aden, said the
officials.
The Ministry of Defense said later in the day it will present a motion to the
parliament later this week to allow the naval operation to begin as early as next
month.
"We will convoy South Korea-registered vessels, focusing on those less capable of
self-defense," Jeon Jei-guk, who oversees defense policy at the ministry, said in
a briefing.
If the motion is ratified by the National Assembly, the South Korean Navy will be
involved in overseas operations for the first time in the nation's military
history.
The U.S., a number of European nations, Russia, India and China have already sent
naval ships to the Somali coast, seeking to strengthen international efforts to
safeguard some of the world's most important shipping lanes. Japan is also
considering sending ships there.
The South Korean destroyer and naval forces, if dispatched to Africa, could
operate both independently and in conjunction with the international naval
forces, said the officials.
Last month, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution
authorizing international land operations against "audacious, armed pirates"
sheltering in Somalia. The resolution, co-sponsored by South Korea, Belgium,
France, Greece and Liberia, authorized the states to "take all necessary measures
that are appropriate in Somalia" to suppress "acts of piracy and armed robbery at
sea."
According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau, approximately 100
vessels were attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia last year, and 40 of
them ended up being hijacked. Some 460 South Korean vessels pass through the Gulf
of Aden every year.
(END)
