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.