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Cape Town - South Africa is concerned at the threat of Somali piracy in southern African waters and will act to prevent it, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Tuesday.
"We remain very concerned about the intrusion of piracy into our space and we remain very determined that we will not allow it to continue," she told a media briefing.
Earlier in a statement the cabinet said South Africa had agreed to consider helping Somalia counter the root causes of piracy.
"Cabinet noted the increasing threat of piracy in South African waters and agreed to explore initiatives aimed at assisting Somalia to counter some of the root causes of piracy."
Sisulu would lead efforts to develop a strategy on dealing with Somali pirates.
The ministry would look at how South Africa could contribute to political stability in Somalia, and how it could best use the navy in combating the growing threat of piracy in southern African waters.
Sisulu said there had been "an intrusion" into Southern African Development Community (Sadc) waters around December 28 last year, with the hijacking of a Mozambican vessel.
"We have now gone back to cabinet, in line with developments and the trend that we see on the matter of piracy, to say it is important that we look at this matter and perhaps devise strategies to deal with it so that we don't have a once-off response to this problem.
"It is not possible for us to sit back when we have incursions on waters we are responsible for," she said.
The SA Navy frigate SS Mendi had been deployed to patrol along the Mozambican Channel to gather information and "indicate to anybody out there that South African waters are protected".
The SS Mendi was currently deployed purely for patrol purposes to gather information and to be in a state of readiness, should there be any problem similar to that experienced in December.
"We have not yet formally deployed and when we do, first cabinet will be informed, parliament will be informed, and the public will be informed.
"At the moment we're dealing with a strategy which should be presented to cabinet to analyse the threat, see what position South Africa will take and when that strategy is complete we will be able to indicate whether or not we are opting for a military solution," Sisulu said.
"We remain very concerned about the intrusion of piracy into our space and we remain very determined that we will not allow it to continue," she told a media briefing.
Earlier in a statement the cabinet said South Africa had agreed to consider helping Somalia counter the root causes of piracy.
"Cabinet noted the increasing threat of piracy in South African waters and agreed to explore initiatives aimed at assisting Somalia to counter some of the root causes of piracy."
Sisulu would lead efforts to develop a strategy on dealing with Somali pirates.
The ministry would look at how South Africa could contribute to political stability in Somalia, and how it could best use the navy in combating the growing threat of piracy in southern African waters.
Sisulu said there had been "an intrusion" into Southern African Development Community (Sadc) waters around December 28 last year, with the hijacking of a Mozambican vessel.
"We have now gone back to cabinet, in line with developments and the trend that we see on the matter of piracy, to say it is important that we look at this matter and perhaps devise strategies to deal with it so that we don't have a once-off response to this problem.
"It is not possible for us to sit back when we have incursions on waters we are responsible for," she said.
The SA Navy frigate SS Mendi had been deployed to patrol along the Mozambican Channel to gather information and "indicate to anybody out there that South African waters are protected".
The SS Mendi was currently deployed purely for patrol purposes to gather information and to be in a state of readiness, should there be any problem similar to that experienced in December.
"We have not yet formally deployed and when we do, first cabinet will be informed, parliament will be informed, and the public will be informed.
"At the moment we're dealing with a strategy which should be presented to cabinet to analyse the threat, see what position South Africa will take and when that strategy is complete we will be able to indicate whether or not we are opting for a military solution," Sisulu said.
