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By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 12 February 2009 1322 hrs SINGAPORE: Singapore will be joining the international community with its anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean told Parliament on Thursday that Singapore will be deploying a Landing Ship Tank, with two Super Puma helicopters for a period of three months this year. The ship will work with the newly-formed multi-national Combined Task Force 151 to protect shipping in the Gulf of Aden. The LST will be deployed once the operational arrangements have been made. Minister Teo explained that Singapore's involvement is because as a maritime nation, the country shares the concerns of the international community regarding piracy. It is also committed to supporting international efforts to keep the sea lanes safe and secure. He stressed that it is not possible for any country, including Singapore, to protect its own shipping in all the key sea lanes of the world. Hence all countries have to depend on international cooperation to secure the sea lanes for everyone's use and that means littoral states, user states, and the international community have a role to play. Minister Teo said there was an upsurge of piracy attacks recently in the Gulf of Aden. In the past year, over 100 ships have been attacked by pirates, who have raked in an estimated ransom of US$120 million. And in recent months, NATO, the European Union, the US, as well as countries such as China, India, Malaysia and Russia, have contributed to anti-piracy efforts in the Gulf of Aden. Other countries, including Japan and Turkey, have announced their intention to send naval vessels.

PIRATES UNDER FIRE: BitTorrent, EZTV and such online piracy sites could now be under threat with the Amended Copyright Act. No more bittorent, no more eztv, life can be kinda boringg.... ------------ Parliament has passed an amended Copyright Act that allows copyright owners to obtain blocking orders against infringing websites, without first having to send a take-down notice to network service providers. PHOTOS Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah moves the Copyright (Amendment) Bill for Second Reading in Parliament. ENLARGE CAPTION SINGAPORE: Parliament today (July 8) passed an amended Copyright Act that aims to put a stop to online piracy. Pushing for the Bill, Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah said it will give copyright owners greater ability to protect their rights in the online space. One key measure is to allow owners to obtain blocking orders against infringing websites. They can do this by applying directly to the court, without having to first establish liability on the part of the network service provider for copyright infringement. Previously, copyright owners needed to send a request to network service providers to disable access or remove copyright infringing material. This was done by issuing a take-down notice to the network service provider. Since there is no rule making it mandatory to comply, service providers need not act on such notices. Ms Indranee said that online piracy is a global issue that affects Singapore as well. "The prevalence of online privacy in Singapore turns customers away from legitimate content and adversely affects Singapore's creative sector," she said. "It can also undermine our reputation as a society that respects the protection of intellectual property."