U.S. set to up Asian maritime security<\/p>\n
Richard Hubbard, Reuters, Singapore<\/p>\n
Washington will seek to win over skeptical Southeast Asia to U.S.
\nplans for increased security in the area's busy shipping lanes
\nwhen Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visits Asia this week,
\nanalysts said.<\/p>\n
Widely reported comments by a U.S. admiral in March that U.S.
\nspecial forces or the Marines could be used to enhance security
\nin the busy Malacca Strait sparked open opposition from both
\nMalaysia and Indonesia which straddle the key waterway.<\/p>\n
The Strait of Malacca, one of the world's busiest shipping
\nlanes, links trading and oil centers in the Middle East, Asia and
\nEurope. Over 50,000 commercial vessels travel the 805-km channel
\nbetween the Indonesian island of Sumatra and the Malaysian
\npeninsula to Singapore each year.<\/p>\n
"I think Rumsfeld will want to do some damage control on this
\nissue to try and get it viewed in a more positive light by
\nregional countries, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia," said
\nMichael Richardson, a researcher at the Institute of Southeast
\nAsian Studies.<\/p>\n
The United States has not held any formal talks with Asian
\nnations on its plan for a Regional Maritime Security Initiative
\n(RMSI), but knows it must smooth the diplomatic waters if it to
\nbe successful.<\/p>\n
"The ball is in the U.S. court to pacify Indonesia and
\nMalaysia and get the issue back on the table," said a Western
\ndiplomat in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Singapore's deputy prime minister and Co-Ordinating Minister
\nfor Security and Defense, Tony Tan, has repeatedly warned there
\nis mounting evidence that terror networks such as the Jamaah
\nIslamiyah are preparing for a sea-borne attack.<\/p>\n
"The threat of a commercial vessel or cruise liner being
\nhijacked and used a floating bomb against Singapore is a very
\nserious one," he told reporters during a recent inspection of
\nsecurity preparations around the city state's ports.<\/p>\n
Singapore, one of Washington's closest Asian allies and
\ncommander of a large security force in Strait, wants nations that
\nbenefit from trade carried along the waterways of the region,
\nsuch as the United States and Japan, to contribute to policing.<\/p>\n
The tiny, wealthy island of Singapore has already tightened
\nsecurity around key installations such as the airport and
\nchemical refineries after foiling Jamaah Islamiyah plots to bomb
\nWestern targets such as embassies and visiting U.S. naval
\nvessels.<\/p>\n
Currently around 37 suspected militants have been detained in
\nSingapore under the tough Internal Security Act for terror-
\nrelated activities linked to the bombing plots.<\/p>\n
Washington is likely to outline its proposal for the RMSI at a
\nmeeting of defense officials around the region gathering in
\nSingapore this weekend.<\/p>\n
The Asia Security Conference held by the International
\nInstitute for Strategic Studies, dubbed the "Shangri-La Dialogue"
\nafter the hotel where it is held, is in its third year as a major
\nforum for discussions on regional security and defense issues.<\/p>\n
Richardson, author of a book on maritime security entitled A
\nTime Bomb for Global Trade, said the United States will be
\nlooking to Asian nations to give their input into the plan before
\npublishing it in any detail.<\/p>\n
"It's a proposal that ought to be looked at afresh by the
\nregion given the seriousness of piracy and the concerns that the
\nshipping industry is expressing. And potentially maritime-related
\nterrorism," he said.<\/p>\n
According to the London-based International Maritime Bureau,
\none-third of the 445 cases of recorded pirate attacks last year
\noccurred in Indonesian waters, including the Malacca Strait.
\nAnalysts said it was likely Rumsfeld would also try to court more
\nregional support for the U.S.-led Proliferation Security
\nInitiative (PSI) designed to disrupt and stop trafficking in
\nweapons of mass destruction.<\/p>\n
Russia this week became the 15th core member of the PSI, which
\nimproves the legal structure for inspecting arms shipments,
\ntighten controls over exports of nuclear materials and removes
\nbarriers for intelligence sharing between countries.<\/p>\n
"The perpetrators are observed to be well-trained and to have
\nwell laid-out plans," he said. "This could signal the start of
\nserious preparations for a maritime terrorist attack."<\/p>",
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