Updated on Friday, November 21, 2008, 00:00 IST

New Delhi, Nov 21: With the threat of piracy emanating from Somalian waters growing by the day, India is keen to take on the sea brigands in their bastion and has approached the government of the African nation in this regard.

The Indian Navy has also established informal coordination with the maritime forces of some other countries, including Russia and Japan, in the Gulf of Aden pending a decision on its proposal for deployment of forces in the area under the UN mandate.

Three days after it sunk a "mother ship" of the pirates, India today made it clear that it will undertake operations at its own level to curb the menace in the Somalian waters as it is posing a threat to international commercial cargo.

"There are two resolutions of the UN Security Council 1816 and 1838. Under 1816 countries that are desirous of fighting piracy have this channel of writing to the Permanent Representative of Somalia in the UN through the Security Council," Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs N Ravi told reporters here.

Detailing the procedures, he said a desirous nation gets an acknowledgement saying that the Permanent Representative of Somalia has received a request from a country and the government of Somalia has allowed such nations to enter Somalian waters so that they fight piracy.

"So far India's encounter with the pirates has been in international waters. Our desire to fight piracy through the UN route has been conveyed and confirmed through the UN Security Council via the UN Permanent Representative of Somalia in UN," Ravi said.

Bureau Report