The US government’s drastic withdrawal from international cooperation now also has consequences for the fight against piracy: Donald Trump has ordered the US to quit from a total of 66 organizations, including the “Recaap”.
Around a year ago, Trump instructed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to review all memberships in international organizations. Although this was also about saving costs, it was primarily about “which organizations, agreements and treaties run counter to the interests of the United States”.
Rubio has now submitted his report. And Trump is making good on his threat. “I have reviewed the Secretary of State’s report and, after consultation with my Cabinet, have determined that it is contrary to the interests of the United States to remain, participate in, or otherwise support some organizations,” reads a statement from the White House.
In it, Trump instructs his followers to withdraw from a total of 66 organizations and cooperations “as soon as possible”.
After the US government exerted massive pressure on the deliberations at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) last autumn, ultimately torpedoing efforts to achieve the widely anticipated “Net Zero Framework”, the shipping industry is now also feeling the consequences of the latest initiative. The IMO is not on the list to be deleted. However, the fight against piracy in Asia is affected.
Germany is also a member
Among other things, Trump is calling to withdraw from the “Regional Cooperation Agreement to Combat Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia”, or Recaap for short. This is an intergovernmental cooperation between 21 countries that was founded in 2004. The members are not only Asian states. The USA, some European countries and, since 2021, Germany have also joined.
Recaap cooperation is primarily about sharing information on piracy cases, threats, strategic plans. In contrast to East Africa, where some of the states are very weak in terms of naval and coastal protection and Somalia was considered a “failed state”, better developed, sovereign states are involved here.
Strictly speaking, many cases in the region are “armed robbery” and not “piracy” because the vast majority of attacks take place in the territorial waters of the states. This circumstance has important consequences because it is the coastal states that have the right to pursue and intervene there first, and not the naval units of other countries that are on patrol duty and could intervene more quickly if necessary.
Even though pirates off East and West Africa have received much more attention in recent years and the military has recently sounded the alarm again, shipping in Southeast Asia is still struggling with attacks, thefts and boardings. Despite – or perhaps because of – its “low profile” cooperation, Recaap is considered a model for success, even if two important countries in the region, Malaysia and Indonesia, cannot bring themselves to join for fear of losing sovereignty.
“Blood, sweat and money”
Incidentally, the latest instructions do not necessarily mark the end of the list of deletions. “My review of further findings by the Secretary of State is not yet complete,” Trump continued.
Rubio himself also commented on the deletion list, describing the organizations in question as “redundant, mismanaged, unnecessary, wasteful and poorly run”. They would be “captured by the interests of actors pursuing their own agendas contrary to our interests, or pose a threat to our nation’s sovereignty, freedoms and overall prosperity”. Trump himself is quoted in the statement as saying that it is no longer acceptable to devote “the blood, sweat and money of the American people to these institutions without getting any meaningful results in return. The days of billions of taxpayer dollars flowing to foreign interests at the expense of our people are over.” These organizations are actively trying to limit American sovereignty, he said. “We reject inertia and ideology and instead embrace prudence and purpose. We seek cooperation where it serves our people and remain steadfast where it does not,” it says.
