US wants search powers 3700km from coastline

COPENHAGEN - The United States wants to search foreign ships far outside its territorial waters to stop a possible terrorist attack on the country coming from the sea, a US coastguard leader said on Wednesday.

"If the threat is significant enough we will board that ship as far from our coast as we can," said Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson who is Pacific Area commander of the US coastguard.

Johnson, who oversees key trade routes with Asia, told a maritime security conference in Copenhagen the policy of the United States was to "push back" its sea borders for searches as much as possible -- perhaps by as much as 2000 nautical miles.

In August Washington said it planned to put sensors on oil rigs and weather buoys to spot security threats at sea and said it might use satellites to track suspect vessels.

Johnson said that, from an intelligence perspective, there was ample justification to worry about a terrorist threat.

"And I believe the maritime sphere will be the avenue for that threat," he said.

He said if the threat level from an incoming foreign-flagged ship was deemed to be low the United States might choose to board and search it closer to home, perhaps within its own territorial waters at 12 miles.

But he said he would like to be able to carry out forced searches much further from shore.

Governments require permission from the flag-state to board a ship in international waters, where it is seen as sovereign territory, or risk a diplomatic row.

Nations would have to agree a new legal framework to allow countries to inspect or board ships outside their own territorial waters.

"I don't intend any sabre-rattling here. I'm talking from an operations perspective," he told Reuters.

"I'm not trying to bring any undue international pressure to get permission to board without flag-state approval. What I do want though is enough time to interdict the vessel," he said.

"Even if I did decide to board a vessel at sea, even as a three star admiral I couldn't make that decision, it goes back to Washington and it doesn't all happen in 15 seconds."

Johnson said the exact parameters would be worked out with partners at a global level and within the framework of international laws of the sea.

- REUTERS