日本船警備法案 海賊対策強化へ早期成立を

[The Yomiuri Shimbun] April 9, 2013
Enact antipiracy law soon to protect nation's access to vital sea lanes
日本船警備法案　海賊対策強化へ早期成立を（4月8日付・読売社説）

It is vitally important for Japan, a trading nation, to secure the safety of sea lanes stretching all the way from the Middle East, the main artery for the transportation of energy resources to this country.
　貿易立国・日本にとって、エネルギー輸送の大動脈である中東からの海上交通路（シーレーン）の安全確保は、死活的な重要性を持つ。

The government has submitted to the Diet a bill concerning special measures that would allow armed security guards from the private sector to board Japanese tankers and other types of vessels to protect them from pirates off Somalia.
　政府が、アフリカ・ソマリア沖の海賊対策として、武装した民間警備員のタンカーなどへの乗船を認める日本船舶警備特別措置法案を国会に提出した。

Pirates have expanded their sphere of activity in recent years, and the areas where pirates' attacks have been reported have spread to the Arabian Sea and the northern Indian Ocean.
　海賊は近年、行動半径を広げ、被害海域はアラビア海やインド洋北部に拡大している。

The use of private-sector security guards is an effective tool to cover those areas, where the Maritime Self-Defense Force cannot escort ships. Therefore, it is necessary to get the bill passed into law as quickly as possible.
海上自衛隊の護衛活動では対応できない海域をカバーするため、民間警備員の活用は有効な手段であり、法案の早期成立を図る必要がある。

The bill enables private-sector security guards armed with rifles to board Japanese flag carriers though in limited waters such as the Arabian Sea, a hot spot for piracy.
　法案は、海賊行為が多発するアラビア海などに限定し、ライフル銃を持つ民間警備員が日本籍船に乗船し、警備することを可能にする。

If enacted, the law would require maritime shipping companies that own the vessels to draw up a security plan in advance and have it approved by the transport minister.
船主の船舶会社が事前に警備計画を作成し、国土交通相の認定を受けることを義務づける。

Major countries already have armed security guards aboard their ships. But private-sector security guards cannot carry firearms aboard Japanese flag carriers, which are subject to the Firearms and Sword Control Law.
　主要国は既に武装警備員を乗船させているが、日本籍船は銃刀法が適用されるため、民間警備員は銃を所持できない。

Firearms would be controlled

According to the bill, the ship's captain would normally keep the firearms under his management and hand them over to the security guards if the ship is pursued by a suspicious vessel, thus enabling them to fire warning shots or fire at the vessel's body.
　法案では、平時は船長が銃を管理し、不審船の追跡を受けた段階で警備員に銃を渡し、警告射撃や船体射撃などを可能にする。

The bill assumes as an example that a team of four security guards working for a British security company boards a ship off Saudi Arabia or Oman, and gets off the ship off Sri Lanka after completing its mission. Shipping companies would bear the cost of hiring the guards.
　英国の警備会社の警備員が４人１組でサウジアラビアやオマーン沖で乗船し、任務終了後にスリランカ沖で下船するという想定だ。費用は船舶会社が負担する。

Such an arrangement would be appropriate as it would be compatible with the Firearms and Swords Control Law, by not allowing firearms to be brought into Japanese territory.
　日本国内に銃を持ち込まないようにすることで、銃刀法との整合性を取る仕組みは妥当だ。

The number of reported incidents of piracy off Somalia surpassed the 200 mark every year from 2009 to 2011, but it dropped to 75 last year and totaled four as of the end of last month for this year.
　ソマリア沖での海賊の発生件数は２００９～１１年は各２００件を超えたが、１２年は７５件、今年も３月末現在で４件と急減した。

The sharp decline is believed to have much to do with the self-defense measures taken by ships themselves and the patrolling activities of the naval forces of the countries concerned.
各国船舶の自衛策や、海軍の護衛活動の成果と見られている。

Efforts highly regarded

Japan's MSDF vessels have escorted more than 2,900 vessels, including foreign ones, providing escorts on about 450 occasions since 2009 in the Gulf of Aden. Meanwhile, P3C patrol planes have provided Japanese and foreign vessels with information on suspicious vessels in at least 7,600 cases through about 870 flights.
　海自艦船は０９年以降、アデン湾で約４５０回、外国船を含め２９００隻以上を護衛した。哨戒機Ｐ３Ｃも、約８７０回の飛行で７６００件以上の不審船情報を各国艦船などに提供している。

The MSDF has accounted for about 60 percent of the total number of patrol flights and assumed a leading role in anti-piracy measures taken by the international community, winning high regard for its efforts. We hope the MSDF continues to steadily fulfill its mission.
　海自は、哨戒飛行全体の６割を占めるなど、国際社会の海賊対策の中心的役割を担い、高い評価を得ている。引き続き任務を着実に果たしてもらいたい。

For truly effective antipiracy measures, however, it is essential for Somalia to enhance its law-enforcement capabilities and for those coastal states of the Gulf of Aden, including Yemen, to improve their maritime security capabilities.
　ただ、抜本的な海賊対策としては、ソマリアの法執行能力や、イエメンなどアデン湾沿岸国の海上保安能力の向上が欠かせない。

Japan, through international organizations, has offered financial assistance and technical guidance to improve public safety in Somalia and establish a maritime security training center in Djibouti.
　日本は、国際機関を通じて、ソマリアの治安向上策やジブチの海上保安訓練センター設立に資金協力や技術指導を実施している。

It is important for Japan to continue its assistance to these nations, in cooperation with countries concerned.
今後も、関係国と連携し、支援を継続することが大切である。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 8, 2013)
（2013年4月8日01時14分 読売新聞）