Cape Town - The South African government says it remains concerned about the escalating piracy in Somalia, with officials vowing to continue to do everything possible to protect SADC waters and the region's trade interests.
Two South Africans became victims of pirates when they were abducted from a yacht in the Indian Ocean in November last year. The pirates have since demanded a ransom of $10 million.
A Mozambican vessel was also hijacked in December in what Defence and Military Veterans Minister Lindiwe Sisulu described as a threat to regional seas and security.
Speaking during a cluster briefing on Tuesday, the minister said her department has now beefed up its sea and air border management with additional deployments being made. The SS Mendi has resumed patrol along the Mozambican channel to ensure security on Southern Africa waters.
Somali piracy has become big business, with millions in ransoms paid last year and the average payment rising from 100 000 pounds in 2005 to 3.3 million pounds last year, according to reports.
In the first three weeks of this year, 25 ships have reportedly been attacked and five captured with an estimated 700 crew members.
"Concerns over Somali piracy are also being attended to by the security institutions... we are working other defence forces and security agencies of the region to protect SADC maritime zone," said Sisulu.
Government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi earlier said Cabinet had agreed to explore initiatives aimed at assisting Somalia to counter some of the root causes of the problem in the area.
It further supported the implementation of the Eastern and Southern African Indian Ocean strategy to deal with piracy along the coast of Somalia.
Sisulu said discussions were underway with the relevant authorities in the region to find ways of combating piracy as championed by the African Union. "The strategy will aim at analysing the threats, and how we should respond to the problems that are fast confronting us," she said.
On ensuring peace and security on the continent, Sisulu said South Africa will continue to deploy its forces in conflict-torn countries with the focus on peace keeping missions.
She said Pretoria will be sending about 2 240 military personnel to operations in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur, and Central Africa Republic. "These deployments are tasked with restoring peace, training and formalising and developing security structures of those countries to stabilize and facilitate economic growth and a better life for the citizens," added Sisulu
