Piracy

Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe Excerpts

Wednesday 24th October 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warwick of Undercliffe]

My Lords, I wanted to say a few words in the debate tonight because I had the privilege of visiting Dubai and Bahrain in August this year as a member of the excellent Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme. It was an intensive week. I spent time with our naval forces on HMS “Diamond” and HMS “Atherstone”, experiencing at first hand their working lives at sea, and gaining an understanding of their mission and purpose in the Gulf and off Somalia. We were also given comprehensive briefings at the base in Bahrain by the UK Maritime Component commander and Combined Maritime Forces—CMF—and by the UK Maritime Trade Operation in Dubai.

It is a small force, yet it does vital work supporting current HERRICK operations, as well as working with partners to prevent piracy, thwart terrorism, encourage regional co-operation and to promote a safe maritime environment, as well as countering malign Iranian influence. The Gulf is a crucial waterway for oil and gas supplies, and in the central sea lane linking Europe, the Far East and the US. Yet it will be obvious that the threats are legion. At first glance, it seems a near-impossible mission: to effectively police 2.5 million square miles of ocean, where pirates and terrorists and others with criminal intent can roam freely. My visit impressed on me the international context of the UK’s mission there, and the variety of collaborative partnerships which had been developed with other nations in order to build stability in the region.

It is clear that, through collaboration and sharing knowledge and expertise between the 26 nations that form the CMF, and working closely with the EU’s NAVFOR operation and NATO, a strategic and effective force has been established. It is also clear that the Royal Navy exercised and exercises an important leadership role with the shipping industry as well as with other nations. It is getting results: there has recently been a reduction in the number of pirated ships. This is clearly a mission where we need to sustain our commitment.

I thought that the EU Committee’s third report, referred to by the noble Lord, Lord Luce, in introducing this debate, entitled Turning the Tide on Piracy, Building Somalia’s Future admirably summed up the issues at stake here, particularly its conclusion that,

“piracy would not be ended until the root causes of the problems in Somalia were successfully tackled”.

However, Somalia remains a fragile state and one which can only too easily be exploited, to our detriment and that of the region as a whole. It is clear that unless current efforts are sustained any gains made will be nugatory. The noble Baroness, Lady Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, said earlier this year:

“Fighting piracy and its root causes is a priority of our action in the Horn of Africa”.

The noble Lords, Lord Luce and Lord Howe, have spelt out coherently the severity of the threats that we face. I hope that the Minister will be able to tell the House that the Government will continue to support this operation and do what is needed to make the UK’s action in the Gulf as effective as possible.