South Africa: Should SA Renew Its Anti-Piracy Operation in the Mozambique Channel?

Despite the navy’s severe resource constraints, Operation Copper seems to have been continued for political rather than practical reasons.

Since 2011, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), primarily the navy, has conducted Operation Copper in the northern Mozambique Channel to deter piracy and other maritime crime. The annual renewal of the operation has long raised questions.

For over a decade, there has been no sustained piracy threat in the area. And for at least the past four…