Japanese

"The piracy in the Malacca Strait"

The Japanese-registered tugboat "Idaten" was attacked by the pirates of Penang in the Strait of Malacca 6:30 p.m. March 14, and three crews including a captain were taken hostage. The president of the tugboat owner Kondo Kaiji, Mr.Kanji Kondo who arrived at Penang international airport at midnight on the 16th, gathered information in cooperation with the authorities concerned and tried to contact with the pirate group using multiple communication routes. President Kondo was confident from the very beginning stage that the hostages shall be rescued unless he would make mistakes since it was not "terrorism". He said that he would try every possible means to rescue them. Moreover, the officials of Kondo Kaiji, Kitakyushu-shi announced that they place maximum priority on human life and even accept payment of ransom if the pirates group requires, which is based on their own judgment. The pirate group seemed to contact Kondo Kaiji using the cellular phone taken from the "Idaten" on the occasion of the attack, and is considered to require the ransom. Three persons were released safely on the 20th as a result of negotiation under the subsequent water surface.

Although President Kondo did not reveal, they were regarded as having a certain deal with the pirates group. To Japanese like us, as the word "pirates" gives us an image of heroes of the fairy tale like Peter Pan, the act of piracy sounds like incidents in the another world. But for the ship owners who run ships in the ocean space daily basis, that is not affairs of other people. What drew such a speedy solution was that top executive of the Kondo Kaiji flew to the site immediately after the incident outbreak and spearheaded this project by himself and negotiated with the pirate group with utilizing their own communication channel. I assume that the Kondo Kaiji had realized the essence that the piracy itself is business and grasp all the market prices of dealings. Also they should build connections to preparing for the risk, which may happen. Once the ransom was paid, conventional criticism will take place that such an activity induces similar type of incidents that target Japanese people.
However, as the piracy is the affair of the different world to us, it reminds us that there are unknown world from the sense of values of advanced nations even in familiar Asian countries. As there is a proverb "When in Rome, do as the Romans do", this incident remind us of the world where the popular uniform global standard cannot deal with still exists.

2005.3.25