Michel the Collaborator Talks Regional Security in India but Does Little at Home

Editorial Comment By: Leoanrd Francis Gill

Michel the Collaborator was in India discussing regional anti-piracy efforts with the Indian Prime Minister. India is increasingly becoming a force in the Indian Ocean as it expands its blue water naval capability.

While this type of regional cooperation is necessary, as one component in the strategic mix necessary to protect the Seselwa Rasin homeland from the pirate scourge, it should not be the sole focus of our security efforts. The PP has focused almost exclusively on these grand regional efforts where red carpet treatment is the norm. The Pp has made little to no effort to define a strategy to protect the inner islands from a land based pirate attack.

This negligence has left us Seselwa Rasin increasingly vulnerable to such a pirate attack, and dependent solely on the ignorance and lack of ambition by the pirates who find their usual prey more and more difficult to capture. It is only a matter of time before they define new easier prey and we will not be ready for them. We then will be faced with just more PP excuses for their foreseeable and obvious failure - once more.

Article From The Times of India Newspaper Dateline Tuesday June 2nd 2010

NEW DELHI: As Seychelles President James Alix Michel landed in India on Tuesday, government officials said security and anti-piracy operations will top the agenda for talks between the two countries.

India has been extending wholesome support and cooperation to Seychelles, including in development of infrastructure and enhancing its security capabilities. "In fact, security and defence cooperation is one of the important aspects of our engagement which extends to assistance in training, supply of defence hardware and so on," foreign ministry spokesperson Vishnu Prakash said.

This is a priority area for Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, as it faces persistent threat from piracy which has adversely affected its economy.

Joint secretary (ESA) Gurjit Singh said India had gifted Coast Guard vessels and had deputed experts to help Seychelles counter the threat of piracy. The increasing incidents of attacks by Somali pirates on commercial ships, cruise liners and private boats has hit the Seychelles economy hard, costing it around 8 billion euros a year.

India has been regularly sending warships to the Seychelles, with a population of just 84,000 people, for surveillance, the last being INS Savitri which had also made calls to Mauritius and the Maldives.