While hunting down Kelly’s letter to the editor, I came across this recent, chest-pounding N&O editorial, chiding the “maritime world” for hand-wringing and praising the Indian Navy for sinking a pirate “mother ship.”
Here’s to India’s navy. While much of the maritime world wrings its hands over the annoying pirates of Somalia and the Arabian Peninsula, an Indian frigate takes decisive action. On Tuesday the INS Tabar blasted a pirate “mother ship” out of the water.
[…]
Some well-placed rounds of shellfire, not endless rounds of ransom-paying, might persuade these waterborne robbers to reverse course.
Wouldn’t you know it, word comes today that the Indian Navy didn’t fire on a pirate “mother ship” after all: it sunk an innocent fishing trawler that had been captured by pirates. Fourteen Thai sailors are now missing.
In one action, the Indian Navy killed more captured sailors than the pirates ever have. To the Rambos writing the N&O editorials: do you see why going in with guns blazing might not be the best approach?
Continue reading
