Vantage | Why Somalia asked Turkey to defend its territorial waters

In Somalia, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has made a strategic play. The Somali government has approved a maritime security pact with Turkey. Ankara has been authorized to build up, train, and equip the Somali navy. Not just that—they will also defend Somalia’s territorial waters.

Turkish warships could be patrolling Somalia’s coast, and they could be active in the Indian Ocean for the duration of ten years.

There are many reasons why Somalia selected Turkey. Somalia has been dealing with a terror insurgency for almost two decades. Recently, there has been a rise in piracy along the Somali coast. Also, there is chaos in the Red Sea with the Yemen-based Houthis disrupting global trade.

All these are important reasons, but Somalia’s primary target is different. Ethiopia is Somalia’s neighbour and nemesis. The maritime deal is aimed at countering Ethiopia and stopping it from executing its port plan.

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Ethiopia is landlocked. But the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, wants it. He believes that a port is essential for Ethiopia’s growth. So on January 1 of this year, Ethiopia struck a deal with Somaliland to allow it to use its coast to build a navy.

One small problem, though: Somaliland is not officially an independent nation. It is considered a breakaway part of Somalia. In the entire international community, no country has recognised Somaliland. It tried to separate from Somalia in 1991. Since then, it has been de-facto independent.

Of course, Somalia was outraged by their port deal, too, because it won’t end there. Reports say that Ethiopia could officially recognise Somaliland’s independence, and Mogadishu will never allow this. It wants Ethiopia to rescind the offer, and that’s where Turkey comes in. The new maritime deal could help Somalia.

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The deal could “convince” Ethiopia to back down. After all, would Abiy Ahmed dare to take on the Turkish navy? As Turkey is a NATO member, an attack on one member is an attack on all of NATO. So Ethiopian aggression is almost out of the question, and this severely limits Abiy Ahmed’s options.

The maritime deal is a smart move by the Somalian president. He said Somalia will start engaging in another war today, to live up to its international duty now, that may be overblown rhetoric. But the signal is clear, he believes he has cornered Ethiopia. He is confident that the world is on Somalia’s side. The ball is now in Ethiopia’s court. Let’s see how Abiy Ahmed responds.

Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.