We have AMU...now what about forming SMU?
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Eversince Sept. 11 there has always been the hype and debate about puttin armed marshals on board civilian passenger aircraft,and that many countries mush for one day where on every single flight,there will be a least a team of Air Marshals to react to any hijacking or unruly cases on board the flight.
Well,now that the integration of AMU is in place,perhaps we should consider starting a SMU or Sea Marshal Unit.Which will have the same duties as the AMU,but different in the sense that they will operate under the UN and under direct command of ASEAN or UN.With all countries contributing a company sized unit,with ASEAN or UN arm patch.They will be put on board all non-military vessels.Their operating team will be limited by the value of the cargo,the threat level,the sensitive nature of the cargo etc...
They will be similarly armed,equipped and trained as Navy SEALs or British's SBS.Their mission is to prevent any possible hijacking of ships at sea by pirates especially in our ASEAN region.It hurts the economy and also shows that we Asians are incapable of keeping our waterways safe such that the US have to contribute military power into the area.And that this group of specially trained anti-piracy marshals will have the ability to summon air-power for back-up from any of the nearest military airbase,naval base or coast guard base of any nation nearest to the ship which is undergoing distress.This will greatly help resolve the piracy issue.
Just my 2 cents worth. -
I thought we had the new Armed Sea Security Teams?
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eh you know how many commercial vessels move through the Malacca straits and around this region? who's gonna come out with money to hire the force to protect all ships? How many men per vessel?The best solution is to train the crew on weapon handling and how to react to a hijacking. By the way our police and navy have VBSS teamson their orbat. The only problem is how fast they can react to a hijacking.
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eh you know how many commercial vessels move through the Malacca straits and around this region? who's gonna come out with money to hire the force to protect all ships? How many men per vessel?The best solution is to train the crew on weapon handling and how to react to a hijacking. By the way our police and navy have VBSS teamson their orbat. The only problem is how fast they can react to a hijacking.
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Well...though it may seem alittle impractical how about having a team of shooters on stand-by with helicopter support and boat/ship support ready to go every single day,24 hours.Countries who wanna ship materials across the straits will pay a "security fee" so as to facilitate the training,equipping and pay of those on the team. i mean to be really frank,considering the fact that it is no doubt true that it makes practical sense to arm the ships' crew with weapons and train them with it,have you ever thought of this,what if some one onboard is in cahoots with the pirates and now that he has firearms,he will have a means to overtake the ship more easily.
But then again...the running cost of such a unit is should not be placed as a priority if people are worried about piracy etc.I mean,given the option,I would rather have a team of shooters ready to go with short notice and though it costs more,it would definitely be more practical then having some crazy-assed tango or pirate try to ram a petroleum filled supertanker into P.Bukom or Jurong Island etc.The resulting effect will be far more difficult to repair and the costs will be far more then operating a team of say 50-100 shooters and may be some support crew ready.