Asian coast guards propose armed guards

Asian coast guards propose armed guards

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Asian coast guards are considering a proposal to provide armed escorts aboard ships plying piracy- infested waters.

Malaysia's proposal came in a two-day meeting ending on Wednesday in Malaysia. Malaysia said it could provide armed police escorts, if requested by vessels using the Straits of Malacca where more than 60 pirate attacks occurred this year.

Japan on Tuesday warned that rising piracy in the channel could undermine recovery efforts of Asian countries from the 1997-98 regional economic crisis.

More than 300 ships daily ply the narrow channel which separates peninsular Malaysia from Indonesia's Sumatra island and connects the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.

"Ship owners now have the option of asking us to place armed policemen on their vessels for certain stretches where they are exposed to attacks," Abdul Rahim Hussin, Malaysia's director of maritime security told reporters after the meeting.

Abdul Rahim said other participants at the meeting wanted to weigh whether the move would encourage pirates to seek better weapons before attacking ships. "On our part we are putting every effort to stem piracy as it hurts the shipping industry," he said.

Japan on Wednesday welcomed the Malaysian initiative. "It is a good system as pirates will not be hasty in attacking ships," Naomi Kawakami of the Japan Coast Guard told reporters.

Abdul Rahim said on Wednesday that Malaysia will discuss with Indonesia about how to deal with pirates operating from islands off the two countries.

Indonesia suffered 90 piracy attacks this year, up from 66 in 1999, making its waterways the riskiest in the world. The increase accompanies upheaval in the sprawling nation of 13,000 islands since longtime ruler Suharto was ousted amid economic crisis in 1998.

Abdul Rahim said a joint international effort to eradicate poverty in some of the islands would help curb the piracy problem.

The meeting in Kuala Lumpur, attended by marine experts from 14 countries, also discussed the possibility of setting up an intelligence network to ensure faster action against pirate attacks.

Meanwhile, Asian security experts, apparently embarrassed by the region's reputation as a haven for pirates, agreed on Wednesday that the crime should be redefined to avoid "distortion of figures."

But the Piracy Reporting Centre, operated by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), said it opposes any change.

Of the 294 actual or attempted attacks reported worldwide to the centre in the first nine months of this year, 192 took place in five regions of Asia. Indonesia acounted for 90, Bangladesh 32, the Strait of Malacca 32, India 23 and Malaysia 15.

In a statement at the end of a two-day meeting on combating piracy, 40 experts from 13 countries said the "distortion" of piracy statistics undermines the good work of enforcement agencies and portrays a negative picture of the region.

The meeting proposed that some crimes be categorised as armed robbery rather than piracy. The suggestion will be discussed at the next regional experts' meeting.

"This is to ensure accurate reporting of incidents so as to present the actual threat of piracy and armed robbery in the region," the statement said.

The experts want to define piracy to include "transnational acts of seizing and boarding ships in the high seas." Armed robbery would include "acts of armed robbery and theft in the territorial waters of coastal states."

Noel Choong, head of the Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur, told AFP the centre would maintain its definition of piracy.

The IMB defines piracy as "an act of boarding or attempting to board any ship with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act."

Choong said that even if the attackers take just one U.S. dollar it is still considered a pirate attack.

"The moment pirates are on board, seafarers are exposed to violence. The danger they may be hurt or killed exists," he said.

Choong said the IMB was concerned about the safety of seafarers and expressed fears that the change in definition would hamper its efforts to press governments in the region to take action.

An industry expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said countries may seek to redefine piracy to stop insurance premiums and freight charges from rising.