Malacca Strait free of terrorism, say experts<\/p>\n
Associated Press
\nKuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
Despite growing fears of a \"9\/11 at sea\" that could cripple
\ntrade, terrorists have not yet established links with pirates in
\nthe Straits of Malacca, one of the world's most vital waterways,
\nexperts and officials said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The assertions, made at a meeting of law enforcement
\nofficials, shipping executives and diplomats from 33 countries,
\ncame a week after a visit by the top U.S. commander in the
\nPacific to seek closer cooperation in protecting the bottleneck
\nthat carries one-third of the world's trade.<\/p>\n
\"Ensuring a safe maritime environment is a prerequisite for
\ncontinued economic growth in the region,\" Chia Kwang Chye,
\nMalaysia's deputy minister for internal security, said in a
\nkeynote address to the two-day meeting sponsored by the
\nInternational Maritime Bureau.<\/p>\n
The Straits of Malacca are the maritime lifeline of East Asia
\n- including for oil from the Middle East, and goods bound for
\nEurope - with some 50,000 ships plying the narrow waters between
\nMalaysia and Singapore on one side and the Indonesian island of
\nSumatra on the other.<\/p>\n
The straits have long been rife with piracy. Ships are
\nattacked, robbed and sometimes seized by bandits on speedboats,
\nespecially from the Indonesian side, which has been hurt by
\neconomic crisis and separatist rebellion in the Sumatran province
\nof Aceh in recent years.<\/p>\n
The Kuala Lumpur-based bureau, which tracks piracy worldwide,
\nis hosting the tri-annual meeting amid new worries that
\nterrorists could sink a vessel in the strait to paralyze
\nshipping, or ram and explode a hijacked ship into an industrial
\narea to cause spectacular damage.<\/p>\n
Andrew Linington, representative of a 19,000-member British
\nseafarers' union, said that the real fear was that the ease of
\npiracy would encourage terrorists that shipping was easy prey.<\/p>\n
\"We could have a 9\/11 at sea,\" Linington said.<\/p>\n
But experts and officials said there was no evidence yet that
\npirates and terrorists were working together.<\/p>\n
Pirates are traditionally local people motivated by economic
\ngain and share few interests with terrorists in the Malacca
\nStraits or the Horn of Africa, another trouble spot, said Brian
\nJenkins, a terrorism adviser to the International Chamber of
\nCommerce, the bureau's parent organization.<\/p>\n
\"Terrorists are determined to carry out very dramatic
\nincidents that would in fact bring down a great deal of heat on
\nthe local population and disrupt what is a lucrative business,\"
\nJenkins said.<\/p>\n
Piracy is a worsening problem in its own right, said P.
\nMukundan, director of the chamber. The number of incidents
\nworldwide rose from 370 in 2002 to 445 last year, with some 20
\npercent in Indonesian waters.<\/p>\n
Shipowners would welcome patrols by the United States or other
\nnavies - \"the more patrols we have ... the better it is,\"
\nMukundan said.<\/p>",
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