Mozambique: Security involves controlling the sea – Admiral Gouveia e Melo

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: Security involves controlling the sea – Admiral Gouveia e Melo

2:49 CAT | 30 Nov 2022

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, said on Tuesday that the war against armed groups in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, also involves security in the country’s territorial waters.

“Security is a cross-cutting issue” and includes the sea, which is “a permeable border that, if not controlled,” may be used by armed groups to create instability, Gouveia e Melo said.

Gouveia e Melo was speaking on the sidelines of the 3rd Conference on the Economy of the Sea, organised in Maputo by the Portugal-Mozambique Chamber of Commerce.

Recognising that “the sea is a harsh element and difficult to control,” Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo called for the need for states to focus efforts on protecting their territorial waters, noting that these spaces can be the scene of criminal activities.

Still on the fight against armed groups in Cabo Delgado, Gouveia e Melo noted that Portugal “gives the possible support”, noting that the country “does not have unlimited capabilities”.

“We give support that Mozambique accepts”, he emphasised.

Portugal’s Chief of Staff stressed that his country would always stand with Mozambique in the fight against radical violence because “the two peoples are brothers”.

“It is a concern because it affects a country that is a brother of ours,” stressed Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who was born in the city of Quelimane, in Zambezia province, central Mozambique, and spoke of the emotion of returning to the African country.

Speaking at the conference, Gouveia e Melo highlighted the importance of the sea for the economy of Mozambique and its neighbouring countries, which depend on Mozambican ports for their international trade.

“Mozambique occupies a strategic position because Mozambican ports are the gateway for trade from the countries in the interior,” he said.

The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Defence of Mozambique, Admiral Joaquim Mangrasse received today (29/11), in an audience at his headquarters, the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy, Admiral Henrique de Gouveia e Melo
in: https://t.co/U9jE4qdtV2 #Mozambique #Portugal pic.twitter.com/E14PJXFBkj

— Notícias de Segurança de Moç / Moz Security News (@DefesaNoticias) November 29, 2022

Cabo Delgado province has been facing an armed insurgency for five years, with some attacks claimed by the extremist group Islamic State.

The insurgency has led to a military response since July 2021 with support from Rwanda and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), liberating districts near gas projects, but new waves of attacks have emerged south of the region and in neighbouring Nampula province.

The conflict has left one million people displaced, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and about 4,000 dead, according to the ACLED conflict registration project.

Source: Lusa