DOLE lauds Japan's anti-piracy law

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) yesterday hailed Japan for passing a new law that complements global efforts to ensure the safe passage of ships and their personnel off the coast of Somalia and the Gulf of Aden.

DOLE Secretary Marianito Roque said that Japan’s new anti-piracy law “dovetails with the wider efforts of the United Nations (UN), including the Philippines and other affected countries,” to protect seafarers against “rampant acts of piracy and hijacking” in these water territories.

Roque, who had been apprised by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) about the law, noted that while the measure is aimed at protecting Japan-flagged vessels, it would “reinforce the safety and well-being of the more than 40,000 overseas Filipino seafarers currently manning the majority of Japan’s global merchant marine fleet.”

In enacting the law, Japan had reaffirmed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which provides “that all states shall cooperate to the fullest possible extent in the repression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any state.”

The convention defines piracy “as illegal acts committed on the high seas for private ends” and it provides that all countries have a right to seize and prosecute those committing such acts.

“Japan had contributed proactively to the anti-piracy efforts in tandem with the protecting naval vessels of the United States (US), European countries, China, and other states patrolling the waters off Somalia,” Roque said.

The law provides for the dispatch of two destroyers from the Japan Coast Guard and the Maritime Self Defense Forces for the conduct of maritime police operations in the Gulf of Aden. 

The vessels had already escorted some 87 Japan-flagged vessels in 28 operations since early 2009.