Pirates, ports, and coasts in Asia : historical and contemporary perspectives

Pirates, Ports and Coasts in Asia aims to fill in some of the historical gaps in the coverage of maritime piracy and armed robbery in Asia. The authors highlight a variety of activities ranging from raiding, destroying and pillaging coastal villages and capturing inhabitants to attacking and taking over vessels, robbing and then trading the cargo and its people. Generally speaking, what connects these activities is the fact that they are carried out at sea, often in the coastal inshore waters, by vessels attacking other vessels or raiding coastal settlements. Acts of maritime piracy cannot be regarded as being located outside the relevant framework of the coastal zone. Coastal zones have therefore become highly desirable places, a circumstance which has transformed them into places subject to great social and ecological pressures. Piracy being the most dramatic of marginal(ized) maritime livelihood, this book brings the relationship between pirates, ports, and coastal hinterlands into focus.

From China to Facebookistan, the Internet has transformed global commerce. A cyber-law expert argues that we must free Internet trade while simultaneously protecting consumers.

On the ancient Silk Road, treasure-laden caravans made their arduous way through deserts and mountain passes, establishing trade between Asia and the civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Today’s electronic Silk Roads ferry information across continents, enabling individuals and corporations anywhere to provide or receive services without obtaining a visa. But the legal infrastructure for such trade is yet rudimentary and uncertain. If an event in cyberspace occurs at once everywhere and nowhere, what law applies? How can consumers be protected when engaging with companies across the world?

In this accessible book, cyber-law expert Anupam Chander provides the first thorough discussion of the law that relates to global Internet commerce. Addressing up-to-the-minute examples, such as Google’s struggles with China, the Pirate Bay’s skirmishes with Hollywood, and the outsourcing of services to India, the author insightfully analyzes the difficulties of regulating Internet trade. Chander then lays out a framework for future policies, showing how countries can dismantle barriers while still protecting consumer interests.

Contents Acknowledgements About the Contributors PART 1. Introduction 1. Pirates, Ports, and Coasts in Asia 2. Piracy in Asian Waters: Problems of Definition PART 2. East Asia 3. Giang Binh: Pirate Haven and Black Market on the Sino-Vietnamese Frontier, 1780–1802 4. Tonkin Rear for China Front: The Dutch East India Company’s Strategy for the North-Eastern Vietnamese Ports in the 1660s Hoang Anh Tuan 5. South Fujian the Disputed Coast, Power and Counter-power 6. Maritime Piracy through a Barbarian Lens: Punishment and Representation (the S.S. Namoa Hijack Case, [1890–91]) PART 3. Southeast Asia 7. Violence and Armed Robbery in Indonesian Seas 8. Robbers and Traders: Papuan Piracy in the Seventeenth Century 9. The Port of Jolo: International Trade and Slave Raiding 10. Pirates in the Periphery: Eastern Sulawesi 1820–1905 11. Suppressing Piracy in Asia: Decolonization and International Relations in a Maritime Border Region (the Sulu Sea), 1959–63 12. Contemporary Maritime Piracy in the Waters off Semporna, Sabah 13. Piracy in Contemporary Sulu: An Ethnographical Case Study Index Pirates, Ports, and Coasts in Asia aims to fill some of the hostorical gaps in the coverage of maritime piracy and armed robbery in Asia. The authors highlight a variety of activities ranging from raiding, destroying and pillaging coastal villages and capturing inhabitants to attacking and taking over vessels, robbing and then trading the cargo and its people. Generally speaking, what connects these activities is the fact that they are carried out at sea, often in the coastal inshore waters, by vessels attacking other vessels or raiding coastal settlements. Acts of maritime piracy cannot be regarded as being located outside the relevant framework of the coastal zone. Coastal zones have therefore become highly desirable places subject to great social and ecological pressures. Piracy being the most dramatic of marginal(ized) maritime livelihood, this book brings the relationship between pirates, ports, and coastal hinterlands into focus. This is a study of maritime piracy from a historical perspective. One theme explored is the parallel between state formation processes and the role piracy or maritime violence placed in these developments. Another is the link between piracy and related forms of organized crime (smuggling of goods and people, drug trafficking, and hostage taking, etc.) which questions what is illegal and illicit in the transnational contexts in which pirates operate. Coastal zones have become highly desirable places, a circumstance which has transformed them into places subject to great social and ecological pressures. This book brings the relationship between pirates, ports, and coastal hinterlands into focus Pirates—Asia.First published in Europe in 2010 by International Institute for Asian Studies