Piracy now a concern in South China Sea

Piracy now a concern in South China Sea    Piracy is rising in areas outside the coast of Somalia, according officials with the International Maritime Board.
   Noel Choong, head of the IMB's piracy reporting center, told Agence France-Presse this week that attacks in the South China Sea through mid-September this year have risen to 19 from 17 during the same period last year.
   The region covers a triangle between Malaysia, Indonesia and the eastern Singapore Straits.
   'Choong said most of the pirates in the triangle were armed with guns and knives and that the maritime board had sent out an alert to vessels in May this year warning them of the dangers in the area,' the report said.
   While the number of attacks pales in comparison to those in and around the Gulf of Aden, the increasing is a sign that piracy is a growing problem in several parts of the world. The affected area is on the trunk line between Asia and Europe (as is the Gulf of Aden), seemingly making that voyage even more treacherous.
   'We are urging countries in the area to increase anti-piracy operations as this helps to reduce such attacks,” Choong told AFP. 'These vessels should mount anti-piracy watches in the triangle because once these pirates are spotted, they do not attack unlike in Somalia, where the pirates attack regardless of being identified. Every time we inform the authorities the attacks go down but they then slowly creep up, so we are keeping a very close eye on the region.'