OFWGuide.com is a Filipino website for new OFWs and for Filipinos
who want to migrate, find an overseas job or work abroad.
Search
OFWguide:
OFW News
New Anti-Piracy Law in Japan to Benefit Filipino Seamen
Sep 9, 2009
The Philippine government through the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) praised the new policy that Japan recently imposed - an anti-piracy law that would guarantee the safe passage of ships in the international maritime trading zones. This move is in response to the number of reported attacks of pirates and hijackers along Somalian borders and the Gulf of Aden that had put the lives of a number of Filipino seamen in danger. This new law would definitely give added protection for the seafarers.
According to the DOLE, in implementing the said policy, Japan is cooperating with the worldwide campaign of the United Nation to create a safe passage for ships and their marine workers and to combat piracy attacks. The government agency also said that the new Japanese anti-piracy law will benefit about 40,000 Filipino seamen. The Philippines along with other affected countries are participating in this global aim.
The DOLE said, "The Japanese anti-piracy law while aimed at protecting Japan-flagged vessels would reinforce the safety and well-being of the more than 40,000 overseas Filipino seafarers currently manning the majority of Japan’s global merchant marine fleet."
Prior to the passing of the new law, Labor Secretary, Marianito Roque went to Tokyo, Japan to be the Philippine’s represent at the Philippine-Japan Seafarer Policy Forum. He was accompanied by partners from the Associated Marine Officers’, Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP), and the Philippine-Japan Consultative Council.
In the said forum, Roque made sure that the jobs of many Filipino seamen in Japanese ships will not be affected. One third of the world’s seamen came from the Philippines and they have been identified as one of the most likely to experience pirate attacks.
By ratifying the new policy, Japan confirms its obligation to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which requires all countries to fully cooperate in the effort to eradicate incidence of pirate attacks on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State.
In the UN Law of the Sea that was created in 1982, piracy is defined as illegal acts committed on the high seas for private ends, adding all countries have a right to seize and prosecute those committing such acts.
In the said forum, Roque made sure that the jobs of many Filipino seamen in Japanese ships will not be affected. One third of the world’s seamen came from the Philippines and they have been identified as one of the most likely to experience pirate attacks.
By ratifying the new policy, Japan confirms its obligation to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which requires all countries to fully cooperate in the effort to eradicate incidence of pirate attacks on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any State.
In the UN Law of the Sea that was created in 1982, piracy is defined as illegal acts committed on the high seas for private ends, adding all countries have a right to seize and prosecute those committing such acts.
