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US in ship security deal with landlocked and navy-less Mongolia
Washington (AFP) Oct 23, 2007 The United States signed a pact Tuesday with Mongolia, which is landlocked, to carry out high-seas interceptions of ships suspected to be ferrying weapons of mass destruction. The US government said its eighth bilateral Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) would boost its campaign to intercept any oceanic trafficking in nuclear, chemical and biological arms by rogue states or extremists. US officials were undeterred by the fact that Mongolia, home to the Gobi Desert and the nomadic descendants of Genghis Khan, is not exactly known for seafaring. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack noted that while it may not have access to the sea, Mongolia does have a shipping registry that has attracted at least 61 vessels whose owners wish to fly a flag of convenience. "We've actually been pretty effective in terms of signing up countries and getting a fair percentage of the total registry around the world for these shipboarding agreements," he told reporters. Under the PSI, the United States and Mongolia have the right to board and possibly seize ships bearing each other's flag if they suspect the cargo to be WMD-related. Mongolia, however, has no navy, and McCormack said "you can ask the Mongols what they think is in it for them." The agreement was signed by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Mongolian Foreign Minister Nyamaa Enkhbold, whose impoverished nation has set up an office in Singapore to try to win business for its small registry. The two officials signed a separate declaration pledging closer cooperation between the United States and the former communist state in fields including trade, education, culture, science and defense. The agreements came a day after White House talks between US President George W. Bush and his Mongolian counterpart Nambar Enkhbayar. The leaders signed a 285 million dollar pact to reduce poverty and corruption in Mongolia. Bush, who paid a historic visit to Ulan Bator in November 2005, thanked Enkhbayar for Mongolia's contribution of small contingents of troops to US-led forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links 21st Century Pirates
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