Jakarta, KL, S'pore navies to coordinate Malacca patrol
Jakarta, KL, S'pore navies to coordinate Malacca patrol
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Batam
The navies of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are to launch on
Tuesday a coordinated patrol of the Strait of Malacca in an
attempt to stamp out pirate attacks along the 600 kilometer
stretch of water between Sumatra and the Malaysian Peninsula.
The military chiefs of the three countries will witness the
17-warship launch of the multilateral operation aboard
Indonesia's Dalpele.
The coordinated patrol comes amid growing accusations that the
three countries, particularly Indonesia, have fallen short of
their responsibility to secure the strait for the 50,000 ships
that pass the narrow waterway each year.
The United States, which raised the initial alarm against
potential terrorist activities in the Malacca Strait, especially
after Sept. 11., had been increasing its pressure on the three
countries.
Citing the growing sophistication of modern pirates,
Washington warned that unless the three beefed up security in the
strait, the area could be used by terrorists to attack and
severely disrupt international trade.
The Paris-based International Maritime Bureau's International
Chamber of Commerce recorded 28 pirate attacks in 2003 on
commercial ships in the Malacca Strait, a significant increase
from 16 cases the previous year. Almost all attacks took place in
Indonesian waters, while no attacks in Malaysian waters were
recorded in the second half of 2003.
The Bureau also noted that the attacks had become deadlier in
recent years.
Tuesday's agreement follows intense negotiations between the
three countries on enhancing security along the strait, which is
the main maritime passage for one-third of all global shipping
trade and more than one-half of the world's sea-borne oil
supplies.
Singapore had earlier proposed the involvement of a third
party -- the United States -- to take part in patrolling the
strait, but this proposal was rejected immediately by Indonesia
and Malaysia for reasons of sovereignty.
The countries agreed to a coordinated patrol as a comprise to
a joint patrol -- which would involve personnel from the three
navies to share patrol boats.
According to earlier reports, the three had agreed that each
would contribute between four to seven patrol boats and share the
same radio frequencies, thus allowing forces to respond to
distress calls within hours. The agreement also reportedly allows
the navy of one country to enter the territorial waters of
another, either in response to an alert or in pursuit of pirate
ships.
The Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Command is currently lobbying
Asia-Pacific countries to join its Regional Maritime Security
Initiative to enhance maritime security in the region.