Posted on 11/24/2014 6:15:17 AM PST by artichokegrower
Piracy in the Malacca Straits is as old as the trade routes that snake between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Mariners have run the Malaccan gauntlet for centuries, braving the navigation hazards and seagoing thugs that inhabit the shortest route between India and China. After a brief hiatus in petty theft and looting at the end of the last decade, the recent resurgence in maritime crime has turned its sights on the global oil trade.
(Excerpt) Read more at gcaptain.com ...
Heh, saw this and thought it was the downloadable type of piracy.
He nails it in the first sentence. I don’t really know if there is a religious angle or not,
“He nails it in the first sentence. I dont really know if there is a religious angle or not,”
Of course it is! Islam dominates that area and jihad on the high seas is a required course for all male Muslims to get their maritime merit badge just like it is for the Somalis.
Some day in the not-too-distant future, the Chinese Navy is going to begin patrolling the area to ensure the safety of their oil cargos from the Middle East. The pirates are not going to enjoy that day very much...and their backers in the Indonesian and Malaysian governments may not, either.
“He nails it in the first sentence. I dont really know if there is a religious angle or not,”
Remember when the USA went to war with Tripoli way back in 1801 in the First Barbary War?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Barbary_War
“The First Barbary War (18011805), also known as the Tripolitan War or the Barbary Coast War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the Northwest African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States. These were the Ottoman provinces of Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis, which were enjoying a large autonomy, as well as the independent Sultanate of Morocco.[1] The war was fought because U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay the high tributes demanded by the Barbary states and because they were seizing American merchant ships and enslaving the crews for high ransoms. It was the first military conflict authorized by Congress that the United States fought on foreign land and seas.”
Who were these pirates? They were Muslims doing sea jihad!
The US Marine Corps Hymn enshrines this piece of history with the words, “To the shores of Tripoli.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5kCqvsO_7c
ping
Using a shallow-draft wooden centerboard ketch, I should not show up on Chinee radar and I will insist on strict radio silence. (Dammit Bubba, I said no talking on the CB!)
While visiting Naples last year, I was able to buy some WWII surplus Italian Frogman Magnetic Limpet Mines and will use them to intimidate super tankers. I am telling you gx, this can work!
I recall a heartwarming story about a rustbucket full of French special forces floating invitingly off the coast of Africa. Somali pirates boarded her but developed serious health issues shortly thereafter.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.