Op-Ed - Protecting the Indian Ocean: Seychelles leads and the UK is with you all the way |04 July 2017

The opening of the Regional Co-ordination and Operations Centre (RCOC) on Saturday was a momentous event for Seychelles and the region. It represents, as was so rightly said during the opening ceremony, a step forward in regional ownership of the fight, not just against piracy, but against all forms of maritime transnational organised crime. Trafficking in people, in arms and, as Seychelles knows too well, drugs, threaten to cause misery, poverty and disruption throughout the western Indian Ocean region, if left unchecked.

Seychelles has shown bold leadership in tackling this threat and the United Kingdom has been steadfast in support. The Royal Navy has been a central component of the naval shield provided by European Union and NATO forces; the UK has houses and operated the operational HQ of EUNAVFOR, and Royal Navy staff are seconded to EUNAVFOR, including a Liaison Officer in Seychelles.

I was delighted to attend the opening of the RCOC on Saturday, housed in a building funded and equipped by the British government. This was an investment in the future of Seychelles and the region. With the evolution of the “REFLECS3 building” into the home of the RCOC and the National Information Sharing and Co-ordination Centre (NISCC) I am convinced by the wisdom of the investment and the enduring impact it will have for the region, thanks in large part to the commitment of the Seychelles government and its expert personnel working in maritime security.

Ahead of an important meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS) chaired by Secretary of State, Barry Faure, in Mauritius this week, the Royal Navy’s regional maritime adviser is in Seychelles to meet with those leading operations in the fight against maritime crime to ensure that an expanded programme of British training is well-aligned to Seychelles’ maritime security training needs. And I am working with my counterparts in Mauritius and Madagascar to oversee a British government project worth c. SCR1 million to support regional maritime security. A team of maritime domain awareness specialists will visit Seychelles later this month. The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) is also working alongside the NDEA and other law enforcement bodies here.

Left unguarded, the vast ocean that separates the countries of this region could provide a highway and a hiding place for those who would seek to profit from regional disunity. The United Kingdom is proud and privileged to continue to partner with the international community (including the EU and UN) Seychelles, and other regional allies, to ensure that it is instead an ocean of opportunity for its people.

Caron Röhsler

British high commissioner to Seychelles