Singapore, Dutch strike up anti-piracy deal

   The Singapore Armed Forces has agreed to a deal to allow the Dutch military to store small arms and ammunition at its outpost, according to a report in Singapore’s Straits Times.
   “The arms will be used by Dutch military teams who sail on board Dutch-flagged merchant vessels, which pass through the piracy-infested waters off the Somali Coast and the Gulf of Aden,” the report said. “These military teams – known as vessel protection detachments (VPD) – are deployed on board the most vulnerable vessels, said a Dutch Defence Ministry spokesman last week.”
   Singapore deploys naval resources in the Gulf as part of a multinational coalition designed to curb the impact of piracy on commercial vessels transiting the area.