Turkey extends naval presence off Somali coast

[Hindustani78]

Turkey extends naval presence off Somali coast

February 03, 2015, Tuesday/ 18:50:07/ TODAYSZAMAN.COM / ISTANBUL

Turkish Parliament has approved a government-sponsored motion to extend the presence of Turkish navy in the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the coastal waters off Somalia for one year.



The motion, first approved in 2009, extends for another year the Turkish Naval Forces' mandate to participate in NATO's international anti-piracy mission Operation Ocean Shield to prevent pirates from hijacking foreign ships in the Gulf of Aden and off the Somali coast, where commercial vessels are often taken over by pirates. The motion will expire on Feb. 10, 2016.

While the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) extended their support for the motion, the lawmakers leveled criticisms against the government for its what they said "misguided" foreign policy.

MHP Ankara deputy Özcan Yeniçeri, who spoke on behalf of this party, said they attach importance to the navy's role in important regions. Yeniçeri, however, described the government's foreign policy as "strategic blindness," referring to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's book on foreig policy conduct, Strategic Depth. Yeniçeri said the current situation on the foreign policy front is a cause for concern and that policies that don't fit in the realities of history and geography has no future.

CHP Deputy Chairman Faruk Loğoğlu characterized Turkey's foreign policy as "wandering in an imagined world," criticizing the government's policies in Egypt and Syria. He said Turkey has been promoting violence in Egypt while its Assad-obsessed policies in Syria was misguided.

 

[Luffy 500]

Good step. May be later it can go for a permanent presence in dijbouti or somalia for anti-piracy missions. It would be a good way of enhancing regional power. JMSDF already has a base in dijbouti.

 

[Hindustani78]

Good step. May be later it can go for a permanent presence in dijbouti or somalia for anti-piracy missions. It would be a good way of enhancing regional power. JMSDF already has a base in dijbouti.

There is French base in Djibouti , if i am not wrong.

 

[Luffy 500]

There is French base in Djibouti , if i am not wrong.

France, US and Japan- all 3 have bases there. I think after US , france have the most power projection capability in the world due to its bases in Africa and some in the pacific islands and latin america.

 

[Neptune]

Very interesting if it comes beyond my expectations. Why? Well;

1- There's already a warship deployed in the region (F-512 TCG Büyükada) which is independently stationed in the area, that means no NATO/UN jurisdiction.

2- There are 4 NATO maritime surface groups formed as of now. Apart from MCM vessels, SNMG1 is currently deployed in Indian Ocean as part of the Operation Ocean Shield (OOS). Meanwhile, SNMG2 is deployed in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Operation Active Endeavor (OAE). Note that, Yavuz-class frigate TCG Turgutreis is currently a part of SNMG1.

There is a rotation between the SNMG1 and SNMG2 by their AO. Once in a six-month period, the both fleets exchange their AOs/Missions. It's a couple weeks if not a month left for the annual rotation of SNMGs.

The question is, was that amendment legally approved the SNMG1 ship TCG Turgutreis for the upcoming OOS rotation of SNMG1 or will TNF dispatch an additional frigate for SNMG2 which will sail to Mediterranean for OAE? By then IMO, OOS will be supplemented by TCG Turgutreis under NATO jurisdiction along with TCG Büyükada's independent deployment.