Beating pirates 'will take 10 years'

Clearing regional waters of pirates is at an early stage, expert says.

DUBAI // Clearing regional waters of pirates will take 10 years, a security expert has warned.

Until then Arab countries will have to rely on joint operations with foreign navies, said Theodore Karasik, the director of research and development at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis.

"Things seem to be moving in the right direction but it's taking a long time to implement," Mr Karasik told the Intersec Maritime Security conference on Sunday.

"The solution should come from within the GCC. There are joint training programmes and discussions between the various ministries of defence in the region, but it's at the level of baby steps. To get the GCC to stand up, it's a 10-year process."

Many regional governments are nervous about the presence of so many foreign warships in their waters, Mr Karasik said.

The US Fifth Fleet oversees the multinational Combined Task Force 152 in the Gulf, consisting of warships from the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, US, UK, France, New Zealand, Italy and Austria. The commander of the UAE Navy, Staff Brig Ibrahim al Musharakh, said last year that a regional command centre should eventually take over.

"We believe that as the Gulf is part of our waters we should always be in charge of operations carried out here," he said.