Djibouti Code of Conduct Analysis: Combating Piracy & Armed Robbery

This report investigates the impact of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the Regional Cooperation Agreement on combating piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia. It reviews existing regulatory frameworks, analyzes the role of the Regional Cooperation Agreement, and evaluates how these frameworks ensure the safe passage of ships. The study uses a positivism research philosophy and a deductive research approach, employing a descriptive research design to explore the effectiveness of these regulatory measures. It examines the definitions of maritime piracy and armed robbery, the obligations under ReCAAP, and the Djibouti Code of Conduct, ultimately aiming to understand how these initiatives contribute to preventing piracy and armed robbery in the region.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Research Proposal
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Content
1.1 Introduction-.........................................................................................................................3
1.2 Background to Research..................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Aim and Objectives..........................................................................................4
1.4 Research Questions..........................................................................................................4
1.5 Significance of the study..................................................................................................5
2.0 Literature Review.................................................................................................................6
2.1 Maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships...........................................................6
2.2 Definition of terms...........................................................................................................7
2.3 ReCAAP- General Obligations – Djibouti Code of Conduct..........................................8
3.0 Research Methodology.........................................................................................................9
3.1 Research Philosophy........................................................................................................9
3.2 Research Approach..........................................................................................................9
3.3 Research Design.............................................................................................................10
3.4 Research Method/ Data Collection techniques..............................................................10
3.5 Data Analysis.................................................................................................................11
3.6 Limitation.......................................................................................................................11
3.7 Ethical Consideration.....................................................................................................11
3.8 Research Time table.......................................................................................................11
References................................................................................................................................12
Appendix..................................................................................................................................14

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Research Title: Djibouti Code of Conduct analysis with The Regional Cooperation
Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia
1.1 Introduction-
The proposed research is based on Djibouti Code of Conduct analysis with Regional
Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy as well as armed robbery against ships in Asia.
The ReCAAP ISC conducts timely and accurate information sharing on incident of piracy
and sea robbery. It has been identified that maritime piracy still remains to be a significant
threat to maritime trade as well as the safe passage ships of through Western Indian Ocean
and Gulf of Aden. Thus, the propose study tends to investigate the impact of regulatory
framework such as Djibouti Code of Conduct with the regional Cooperation Agreement on
such incident. The following section describes the base the proposed study. This introductory
section of report discusses the importance of performing a study on the chosen context along
with clear aim and objectives.
1.2 Background to Research
It is certain that Piracy and armed robbery against ship is always a significant concern
which sparks several national and political debates. Thus, Hribernik (2013) commented that
there is an urgent need for conscious of the significance of international cooperation and
urgent necessity for greater regional cooperation of all States affected within Asia to stop
piracy as well as ARAS efficiently. On the other side, Treves (2009) mentioned that
information sharing as well as capacity building among the Contracting parties should
significantly contribute towards the prevention and suppression of piracy and armed robbery
in Asia. When it comes to taking action against the robbery and piracy in Asia through
regulatory framework, it is worth stating that authority needs to ensure a larger effectiveness
of the agreement. Haywood, and Spivak (2013) commented that piracy is a global issue but

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its deteriorating security situation in Djibouti and other gulf nations between 2006 to 2013 as
well as the growing attacks on Gulf of Guinea is a significant challenge. It has been further
identified that the intensity of concern for the challenge in the global environment which is
exemplified by the ranges of co-operation and coordination among naval and other significant
forces from many nations. Thus, it is worth mentioning that facilitating discussion between
industry, security forces as well as other authorities with an interest in piracy issue is a
significant of work of regulatory framework. The focus on such framework is a significant
area of discussion of the proposed research.
1.3 Research Aim and Objectives
The proposed study aims to investigate the impact of Djibouti Code of Conduct with
regional Cooperation Agreement on piracy and armed robbery against ship in Asia. It will
shed light on the role of regulatory organizations in preventing robbery and piracy. Following
are the key objectives to meet the stated aim
 To review the existing regulatory framework on combating piracy and armed robbery
against ships in Asia
 To analyse the role of Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and
armed robbery
 To evaluate how the regulatory framework ensures safe passage of Asian ships
through the corridor
1.4 Research Questions
 What is the role of Djibouti Code of Conduct and Regional Cooperation Agreement
on Combating Piracy and armed robbery against the ship in Asia?

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1.5 Significance of the study
Even though several studies have been performed on the regulatory framework and
code of conduct to learn about how piracy and armed robbery can be prevented but due to
dynamic political condition and lack of governmental involvement, the issue has further
taken the toll of reaching the global environment. The controversy regarding the issues are
represented different gulf and Asian nations but the entire process requires a unanimous
approach. The proposed study will help to learn how Djibouti Code of Conduct and Regional
Cooperation Agreement takes the initiatives to prevent the sated issues.

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2.0 Literature Review
Previous studies clearly state the fact that regional cooperation among states has a
great role to play in solving the challenge of piracy and armed robbery against the ships in
Asia which is evidenced by the achievement of regional anti-party operation in the Asia.
Bueger (2013) mentioned that there are several Asian nations that have no naval capacity of
any type; this happens because they are particularly are not in the position to fight against the
piracy effectively. These states presently are in vulnerable positions as they cannot protect
their trade through seas from the pirates and the armed robbers. This section of report
presents a preliminary findings of existing studies on piracy and armed robbery as well as the
regulatory framework against the same. Review of literature has been performed considering
fifteen journal articles and all of them are published after 2013. Then discussion and analysis
on the chosen context has been presented on the basis of the themes found in the existing
studies.
2.1 Maritime piracy and armed robbery against ships
According to Gottlieb (2013) undoubtedly armed robbery and maritime piracy have become a
more alarming than decades ago. This fact is further considered as a serious threat as well as
contemporary challenge of international community and coastal regions. On the contrary,
Pristrom et al., (2013) mentioned that such as occurrence could differ from one particular
region to another but its effect always remain global. Then author has argued that it should be
rather treated as national challenge before it takes its toll when reaches the international
forum. Thus, there is a significant need of strengthening the national capacity to prevent as
well as address maritime piracy and armed robbery against the ships. Notwithstanding, Wu
(2016) mentioned that regional and international community should support the stated efforts
with the focus of being effective to the initiative. Insisting on prevention and capacity

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development on a national level could ultimately lessen the impact of regional community’s
role. Thus, Son (2015) suggested that major goal should be about resolving things before it
turns into a Djibouti regional case.
2.2 Definition of terms
According to Anyimadu (2013), the word “pirate” has its fundamental root from latin
word “Pirata” where the notion of sea robber and eventually it is derived from the Greek
word “Perian”. Thus, according to the author, the pirate is etymologically an individual who
attempts an actual attack on some particular individual, agency and organization. In this
context, Beckman and Page (2014) commented that if the piracy has been related to sea
transportation for a long time, such transportation might hold the scope for extending into air
transportation. However, in spite of today’s random use of the word piracy in different fields,
it has retained its original references to the maritime arena which depicts the act of hostility,
robbery and violence. Beckman and Page (2014) defined “maritime piracy” as stated LOSC
as an illegal action or violence which is committed for the passengers of private aircraft. On
the other side, Bueger (2013) commented that any sort of global involvement in the operation
of a ship with such knowledge of facts can make it worse.
On the other side, Pristrom et al., (2013) mentioned that the world has been observing
the challenge of maritime piracy and armed robbery since the ancient period of civilization
where social and economic issues are a real challenge. According to the author, occurrence of
such incidents may differ sometimes as it particularly depends on the regions. It is certain that
some significant breakouts can occur once the degree of threat in one region for maritime
piracy and armed robbery against ships is reduced. Wu (2016) conducted a study and stated
the fact that under 21st century maritime and robbery against ships could be identified in
different regions along with the nations like East Africa, Indian Ocean, West Africa, Djibouti

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and Arabian Sea. The following figure shows the frequency of occurrence of piracy and
armed robbery against the ships.
Figure 1: World Wide yearly statistics of Maritime piracy and armed robbery against
the ship incidents
(Source: Wu, 2016)
2.3 ReCAAP- General Obligations – Djibouti Code of Conduct
According to Ansari (2017), each contracting party should, in accordance with its
national regulations as well as applicable rules should make every efforts to take and
implement effective measures with respect to preventing and suppressing piracy and ARAS.
In addition to this, it is also about arresting pirates or the individuals who have committed
ARAS. Anyimadu (2013) mentioned that Djibouti Meeting adopted the Djibouti Code of
Conduct regarding the repression of Piracy and Armed Robbery against the ships in Western
Indian ships. Furthermore, Haywood and Spivak (2013) commented that the Code of

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Conduct remains as the open signature at IMO headquarter which is done by several other
nations in the region. In this context, Wu (2016) commented that the Code, which becomes
effective from the date, it was signed and considers account and promotes the implementation
of those aspects of UN Security Council resolution.
3.0 Research Methodology
3.1 Research Philosophy
A research philosophy is a fundamental belief regarding the ways in which the data
about a particular phenomenon need to be gathered, used and analysed. There are three
different types of research philosophies namely positivism, interpretivism and realism.
According to Creswell & Clark (2017), positivism remains with the view that only factual
knowledge derived through the observation with the inclusion of measurement is reliable.
The outcome of such philosophical studies are quantifiable. On the other side, realism
research philosophy is based on the idea of independence of reality and it is also based on the
assumptions of a scientific approach to the development of knowledge. Conversely,
intepretivism research philosophy emphasizes in-depth and intelligible insight of meaningful
social actions in a particularly context. Nonetheless, the proposed study will use positivism
research philosophy.
3.2 Research Approach
Research approaches are comprised of three different categories namely deductive,
inductive and abductive research approach. According to Hughes and Sharrock (2016), a
deductive research approach is concerned with the development of hypothesis and it is
particularly based on existing theories further helping to validate research hypothesis. On the
other side, inductive research approach is known as inductive reasoning which starts with
observation and theories. These theories are proposed towards the end of the research process

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as the outcome of observation. Conversely, abductive research approach on the other side,
abductive approach is set to resolve the weaknesses that are associated with deductive and
inductive approaches. However, in the proposed study deductive research approach will be
used.
Justifying deductive research approach
Deductive research approach has been selected as it best fits with research
requirements. For example, the outcome will help to learn how Djibouti Code of Conduct and
Cooperation Regional Cooperation Agreement plays its role in taking preventative
initiatives against piracy and robbery against the ships.
3.3 Research Design
Research designs are comprised of two different categories namely exploratory as
well as descriptive research design. As put forward by Lewis (2015), exploratory research
focussing on exploring specific research aspects of the research areas. Gioia, Corley and
Hamilton (2013) argued that exploratory research design does not deliver final as well as
conclusive responses to research questions. On the other side, descriptive research study aims
at casting light on the existing issues or problems through the process of data collection.
However, in the present study descriptive research design will be selected. Research design
helps to analyse non-quantified topics and issues related to piracy and armed robbery against
the ships in Asia.
3.4 Research Method/ Data Collection techniques
Secondary Data collection method
Secondary data is a type of data that are already published in books, journals,
newspapers, magazines and wide reading sources. There is an abundance of secondary data
available in these data sources (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault, 2015). In the present study,

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secondary data is collected for performing the analysis on the role of Djibouti Code of
Conduct and Cooperation Regional Cooperation Agreement on piracy and armed
robbery against ship and data has been collected from books and journal articles that are
performed on warehouse management.
3.5 Data Analysis
The collected data first will be presented with graph and tables including the
frequency of robbery and piracy against the ships in Asia. The data findings will be analysed
by comparing with the findings of existing studies. The research will use a thematic analysis
method in which 5 to 6 different themes on chosen topic will be selected. The selected
themes will also include graphs and figures to indicate the data and facts.
3.6 Limitation
The proposed study is restricted to secondary data analysis only, which means that the
study does not include primary data. In addition to this, the journal used in the study does not
include the contemporary facts and findings regarding piracy and armed robbery.
3.7 Ethical Consideration
Ethical consideration is a significant area in all business and academic studies. Ethical
challenges especially occurs in data collection with respect to their validation and
acknowledgement. Thus, to avoid such issue in the proposed study, all data sources are
acknowledged and cited accurately.
3.8 Research Time table
(Refer to Appendix)

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References
Ansari, A. H. (2017). Critical Analysis of the Efficacy of the ReCAAP in Combating Piracy
and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.
Anyimadu, A. (2013). Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Lessons Learned from the
Indian Ocean. Chatham House, (02).
Beckman, R., & Page, M. (2014). Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships. In The
Handbook of Security (pp. 234-255). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Bueger, C. (2013). Counter-piracy, communities of practice and new security
alignments. Journal of regional security, 8(1), 49-62.
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. P. (2017). Designing and conducting mixed methods
research. Sage publications.
Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking qualitative rigor in inductive
research: Notes on the Gioia methodology. Organizational research methods, 16(1),
15-31.
Gottlieb, Y. (2013). Combating Maritime Piracy: Inter-Disciplinary Cooperation and
Information Sharing. Case W. Res. J. Int'l L., 46, 303.
Haywood, R., & Spivak, R. (2013). Maritime piracy. Routledge.
Hribernik, M. (2013). Countering Maritime Piracy and Robbery in Southeast Asia: The Role
of the ReCAAP Agreement.
Hughes, J. A., & Sharrock, W. W. (2016). The philosophy of social research. Routledge.
Lewis, S. (2015). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five
approaches. Health promotion practice, 16(4), 473-475.

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Pristrom, S., Li, K. X., Yang, Z., & Wang, J. (2013). A study of maritime security and
piracy. Maritime Policy & Management, 40(7), 675-693.
Son, N. H. (2015). ASEAN-Japan strategic partnership in Southeast Asia: Maritime security
and cooperation. Beyond, 214-227.
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research
methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.
Treves, T. (2009). Piracy, law of the sea, and use of force: developments off the coast of
Somalia. European Journal of International Law, 20(2), 399-414.
Wu, S. (2016). Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI) and Enhancing Security in the
Straits of Malacca: Littoral States’ and Regional Responses Yann-huei SONG.
In Maritime Security in the South China Sea (pp. 121-146). Routledge.

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Appendix
Research Time table
Main activities/ stages Week1 Week2 Week3 Week4 Week5 Week 6
Topic Selection 
Data collection from
secondary sources
 
Framing layout of the
research

Literature review   
Formation of the research
Plan
 
Selection of the Appropriate
Research Techniques
 
Secondary data collection  
Analysis & Interpretation of
Data Collection
 
Conclusion of the Study 
Formation of Rough Draft 
Submission of Final Work 

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