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DJIBOUTI (June 24, 2008) - Representatives from 10 East African
nations, along with coalition partners from the United Kingdom,
France and the United States participated in a week-long working
group to help lay a foundation for great partnership in the realm
of maritime security.
Speakers from the various organizations covered a wide range of
topics, including strategies for short- and long-term planning,
pooling resources, regional cooperation, and security
considerations at sea.
The team from Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa organized
the event and was the catalyst for bringing these countries
together to discuss issues pertaining to the region.
Navy Rear Adm. Philip H. Greene Jr., commander of CJTF-HOA,
spoke first about the implication for why maritime security is
vital to regional success.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together to
develop partnerships, as well as to share information and knowledge
about our path to improving maritime security and safety in the
Horn and Eastern Africa," he said.
The desired end state is regional security and cooperation to
help create a prosperous East Africa, Greene said.
"The importance of maritime security and safety in this region
is driven because of the economic challenges that the region
faces," the admiral said. "This is due to criminal activities at
sea, trafficking of drugs, smuggling of illegal cargo, trafficking
of people, as well as armed robbery and piracy at sea.
"Every country has limited resources to combat these many
issues, including the United States," he continued. "Whether it is
money, people or ships, the resources are finite, and talking about
the issues candidly allows all of us to tackle the problems within
the confines of what we have."
Navy Capt. James R. Burke, director of the plans and policy
directorate for CJTF-HOA, was one of the driving forces behind this
workshop. One of the goals he said he hopes eventually will come
from these meetings is organizing and pooling resources throughout
the region.
"Whenever you build some type of maritime capacity, it is never
cheap, and there are limited resources," Burke said. "What is
required is to determine what the threats are and what the nation
may need to combat these threats.
"It is not just about equipment, it is also a supporting legal
structure," he continued. "It may also span several agencies -- it
could be the military, it could be the navy, its port authorities
-- and bringing all those agencies together. It is complex
environment, not a simple problem, but one that needs to be
tackled."
A team from the Naval War College, in Newport, R.I., facilitated
the small working groups, allowing delegates from the partner
nations to discuss openly and candidly the problems each nation
faces. Some challenges were common among the region's nations, but
others presented were unique.
One delegate brought up the issue of having an uninformed
populace regarding the laws surrounding smuggling. "If they do not
know it is wrong, how can you expect them to refrain from doing
illegal activities?" was a question posed by one of the
attendees.
"Seeing the issues each nation is up against sets a framework
for finding solutions in the future," Burke said. "Because of the
limited resources involved, and the overlapping challenges the
countries in the region encounter, if they can start thinking about
working together to improve the overall security situation, this
region in Africa will be one step closer to achieving the goals of
the working group."
Concern for maritime security is not limited to coastal nations,
Burke noted. Any nation with waterways has to consider how to
provide security on them, he said.
Uganda is a prime example of a land-locked country with maritime
security concerns. Lt. Col. Michael Nyayrwa, head of the Uganda
People's Defense Force Maritime Forces, said even though his
country is in the interior of Africa, maritime security still plays
a role in the overall security of his country.
"We looked at how maritime security and safety strategies could
be developed in the workshop, and we came to understand these
strategies are not about navies, but about maritime domain
awareness," Nyayrwa said. "It is about partnership, it is about
cooperation, it is about countries pooling their resources, sharing
information, and all of this is for the economic benefit for the
people in this region of Africa."
He went on to say the problems of piracy and illegal fishing
have an untold cost to the people as a whole and it is in the
interests of everyone to work together to battle these forces.
"High crimes on our water bodies have transcended national
borders, and coming together of various countries will engender
prosperity of all the peoples in eastern Africa," he said.
"The framework is being laid for better regional maritime safety
and security in the region," Burke said. "Ultimately, it will be up
to everyone to step up and deliver on the goals talked about
here."
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