Territory no longer an issue in Malacca Strait security<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Four Southeast Asian countries -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore
\nand Thailand -- are expected to soon agree on a standard
\noperating procedure (SOP) in securing the pirate-infested Strait
\nof Malacca, according to a senior official.<\/p>\n
Chief of the Indonesian Navy's western fleet Rear Adm. Tedjo
\nEdhy Purdijatno said on Saturday that under the SOP, patrol boats
\nfrom each country could enter each other's water territory when
\nchasing pirates, but needed to refrain from taking military
\naction or opening fire.<\/p>\n
Tedjo said that in the past, cross-border pursuit had been
\nhampered by the territory issue.<\/p>\n
\"But once the SOP is signed, it will be a different story,\" he
\nwas quoted by state news agency Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Malacca, a narrow 805-kilometer waterway is used
\nby some 50,000 ships a year carrying a quarter of global trade
\nand nearly all oil imports for Japan and China. But ships have
\noften been targeted by pirates, and recently there have been
\nfears it could become a target for a terror attack.<\/p>\n
The three littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
\nlaunched coordinated sea patrols of the strait last year, but
\npiracy and robbery have remained rampant and they are under
\npressure from major users such as Japan and the United States to
\nstep up security. The three states later invited Thailand, as a
\nclose neighbor, to conduct a joint patrol of the strait.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Tedjo said in addition to the sea patrol, the \"Eyes
\nin the Sky\" coordinated air patrol by the four countries was
\nrecently launched.<\/p>\n
Under the program, the personnel or aircraft of each country
\ncould also enter each other's territory, but the limit was set at
\nthree nautical miles from the coast, he said.<\/p>\n
Tedjo also said that governments of user countries, such as
\nthe U.S. and Japan, were expected to soon deliver promised
\nassistance, including in the form of equipment and training.<\/p>\n
Compared to the past two years, security in the Strait of
\nMalacca, however, seems to be improving.<\/p>\n
Pottengal Mukundan, London-based director of the International
\nMaritime Bureau (IMB), said there was a dramatic reduction in
\nattacks on ships in the strategic waterway this year, thanks to
\nintensified efforts by Indonesia to boost naval and air patrols.<\/p>\n
Mukundan said Indonesia launched large-scale sea and air
\npatrols in July to enforce maritime security in the strait in an
\noperation code-named Gurita 2005.<\/p>\n
As a result, there was a sharp drop in attacks to 10 in the
\nfirst nine months of 2005 from 25 in the same period of 2004.<\/p>\n
The figures for the first few months of 2005 were also
\naffected by the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami, which devastated
\nparts of Indonesia and also curtailed pirates' activities.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/territory-no-longer-an-issue-in-malacca-strait-security-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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