Lok Sabha votes to recommend a bill to combat pirateship in territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the majority of the standing committees recommendations have been included in the bill .
New Delhi (India), December 7: The Lok Sabha voted on Wednesday to recommend a bill that seeks to create a practical legislative means to combat pirateship not only in territorial waters and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), but also on the high seas.External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that the majority of the standing committee's recommendations have been included in the bill.India does not have a single rule or regulation on piracy in the IPC or the CrPC, he said, and that maritime safety is essential to national well-being, as more than 90% of the country's trade with the world occurs by sea routes.India is also one of the world's biggest importers of seafarers.
According to the minister, the bill would fulfill the demands of the United Nations Security Council's 2021 session on cooperation and repression of pirate activity in the high seas.The bill today is a logical extension of our maritime initiative, which will also improve our maritime safety, including those of our trade routes, and the welfare of our seafarers in international waters.According to him, the Bill merits consideration and passage because it is a public policy document.Congress member Manish Tewari said that ungoverned spaces, on the other hand, create the conditions for pirates to operate. For almost a decade-and-a-half, if not more, the Gulf of Aden, the North Arabian Sea, and Yemen's coasts have been piracy-prone.The sea lanes of trade for India, particularly those that cross these waters and also those that cross from the Hormuz to the Malacca, are the heart of our global trade, he said.The growing Chinese presence in these waters has implications for the country's national security, according to a new study by the Department of Defense.Under those conditions, more than piracy is going to be our greatest challenge, he said, as India must rethink its forward-basing strategy, because you cannot have a secure Northern Arabian Sea and Western Indian Ocean if you lack bases to be able to forward-deploy. I would like to ask the Minister:... India was in negotiations with Mauritius.On the Agalega Islands, I believe we were doing something about it.On the Assumption Islands, we were also doing something with the Seychelles.Therefore, it would be interesting if the Minister could shed some light on what India can achieve, he said.