WORLD> Middle East
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WORLD> Middle East
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Piracy in Aden Gulf increases fears in Yemen
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-05 21:46 SANAA - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has recently made a sudden visit to Jordan and Egypt to discuss rampant piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden. Maritime officials have said the recent sudden surge in piracy activities in the Gulf of Aden, a narrow, 885 km-long stretch of water that lies between Yemen and Somalia, was unprecedented with more than 50 ships and 250 seamen been seized this year alone. A Yemeni source said on condition of anonymity that the president's visit to Jordan and Egypt on October 1-4 leading a high ranking delegation, including Prime Minister Ali Muhammad al- Mujawa and Speaker of House of Representatives Yahia Al Ra'i, highlights Yemen's growing fears about an American-European plan to internationalize the Red Sea. The source said Saleh discussed with his two counterparts Yemen 's fears about intensifying multinational military presence in the southern outlet of the Red Sea and its risks on national security. Yemen is also concerned that it will be a prelude to pass a Red Sea internationalization project which was previously proposed by Israel and was sternly rejected by Arabs then, said the source. He said President Saleh made some suggestions to counter the crisis, which had been previously discussed with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz during his visit to the kingdom recently. Saleh's visit is aimed at coordinating efforts among states overlooking the Red Sea in face of any possible international measure arousing from countering naval piracy as a cover for internationalization of the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and surrounding islands. Countries overlooking the Red Sea are Egypt, Sudan, Djibouti, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. Moreover, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Abdullah al-Kurbi stressed the significance of coordinating efforts to counter increasing piracy in southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to guarantee international navigation safety. |
