Somali Pirates: India wants UN leadership of anti-pirate patrols after Indian ship denied immediate protection

Global politics rears its head in the battle against Somali pirates now that India wants UN force off Somalia after its ship is refused protection:

Just days after foiling two attempted hijacks by heavily armed sea pirates off the coast of Somalia, India has called for a United Nations peacekeeping force to patrol the increasingly dangerous Gulf of Aden in the Arabian Sea.The Indian call - made Thursday at the twice-yearly Council meeting of the International Maritime Organization in London - is aimed at bringing current disjointed security patrols of individual countries under a unified command.

Senior shipping sources said the move follows a recent refusal by a Western naval patrol to protect an Indian merchant ship that felt “vulnerable” to attacks on what is perhaps the world’s most dangerous stretch of water.

“When the Indian captain asked for protection, he was asked, firstly, about which flag he was flying, then about the nationality of his crew, and finally about which cargo he was carrying,” said Shipping Corporation of India Chairman S. Hajara.

When informed that it was an Indian ship with Indian seafarers, the captain was told that he could not be provided immediate protection, Hajara, who is part of the Indian delegation to the IMO Council meetings, told IANS.

The 950-km stretch, straddled by Yemen on the north and Somalia on the south, is part of the vital Suez shipping route and patrolled by a multinational anti-terror naval task force comprising warships from the US, Britain, Germany and other countries.

India chose to stay out of the force because it is not under UN control and its call for UN leadership and coordination at the IMO Thursday received the backing of a large number of countries, said Shipping Secretary A.P.V.N. Sarma.

You know, international cooperation doesn't always have to have UN sanction unless you are looking for "top cover."