THE waters of the South China Sea have a long history of violent piracy. In the past few months, however, the pirates have turned even more brutal. First, the 15-member crew of the MV Tenyu disappeared and were feared murdered in December. Then, six bound, gagged and weighted bodies from the murdered 23-member crew of the bulk carrier Cheung Son were found by fishermen.
This is a highly disturbing trend not only for the shipping community but also for governments in the region, especially China. The investigation we publish today into the hijacking of the Tenyu shows that investigating authorities have reason to treat the problem very seriously.
SAR police have interviewed a figure at the centre of the recruiting of the Tenyu crew, who is in jail here. The International Maritime Bureau believes that two Indonesian members of the crew aboard the renamed boat discovered in Zhangjiagang, near Shanghai, were involved in a notorious 1995 hijacking - they were arrested by Beihai police but released. That aroused international concern, and there were further worries over the decision by authorities on Hainan Island to release pirates who had hijacked and terrorised the crew of a fuel carrier, the Petro Ranger, last year. The Hong Kong Shipowners Association is right to call for a public explanation of the decisions to let them go. Now, it is to be hoped that a thorough and transparent investigation will be carried out into the crew arrested on the Tenyu.
President Jiang Zemin and Prime Minister Zhu Rongji have ordered a crackdown on smuggling as part of the anti-corruption drive on the mainland. Beijing wants to ensure that provincial officials heed instructions to stamp out the illegal trade, as shown by Mr Zhu's recent visit to Guangdong. Measures against piracy should form part of this campaign. The involvement of central authorities in dealing with the cases we highlight today is more encouraging than if they had been left to local officials.
Port authorities and police should also be commended for spotting the repainted and renamed Tenyu and apprehending those who massacred the Cheung Son's sailors. All the signs are so far that public security and investigating officials are treating these latest cases seriously, not least because Chinese citizens are involved. If they do not do so, China's reputation will only suffer.
