KL detains Thais and Malaysian over tugboat attack

KL detains Thais and Malaysian over tugboat attack

Agencies, Kuala Lumpur/Jakarta

Malaysian police have detained four Thais and a Malaysian whose
fishing vessel is suspected of involvement in a pirate attack on
a Japanese tugboat in the Strait of Malacca, a spokesman said on
Friday.

"We detained the fishing boat on Thursday. The five crew
members are being questioned now. The boat is alleged to have
been used in the attack," Mokhtar Othman, operations officer for
Malaysia's northern region marine police, told AFP.

Mokhtar said the registration number of the Malaysia-
registered boat was the same as that on one of the craft involved
in Monday's attack, in which two Japanese officers and a Filipino
crewman were kidnapped.

An Indonesian vessel was hijacked by pirates on the same day,
but the crew and ship were later released. During the hijacking,
one of the seamen tried to contact fellow seamen. This helped
police estimate the location of the vessel.

In Jakarta, National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that
the police had narrowed down the location of the pirates.

"The National Police, along with North Sumatra and Riau
police, are trying to detect the location of the pirate ship.
Based on our information, one of the kidnapped (Indonesian)
seamen tried to contact colleagues and from radio transmission we
determined that the location was around Berhala island near
Sumatra. The area is vast," Da'i told The Jakarta Post and other
newspapers on Friday.

"However, we don't yet know the location of the kidnapped
Japanese seamen or whether they were kidnapped by the same group.

"Based on our information, the pirate vessel used to hijack
the Japanese ship was a fishing boat flying a Malaysian flag. So
far there has been no negotiation with the hijackers," Da'i said.

Mokhtar said the remaining crew of the tugboat and the barge
it was towing were expected to attend a lineup to ascertain
whether the detained suspects were involved in the attack.

The pirates, who are expected to make a ransom demand, had not
yet communicated with the Japanese shipowners, he said.

Mokhtar said the marine police were under intense pressure to
locate the kidnap victims and arrest the pirates and were working
closely with their Indonesian counterparts.

"Since it involves international nationals, the focus is on us
to resolve the issue," he said.

The strait, which carries a third of world trade and half its
oil supplies, separates peninsular Malaysia and Singapore from
Indonesia's Sumatra island, providing the quickest route from the
Indian Ocean to the South China Sea.

The U.S. ambassador to Malaysia said on Friday that Washington
was concerned about piracy and the potential for terrorism in the
strait and was prepared to help secure the vital shipping lane if
asked.

"Obviously, all of us are concerned about the increase over
the period of time in pirate attacks. We must be concerned about
potential for terrorists to also operate somehow in the strait,"
Christopher J. La Fleur was quoted as saying by the official
Bernama news agency.

"The U.S. obviously has various sorts of military capability
and if asked, of course we will be happy to consult with
countries in the region on this issue."

Malaysia has repeatedly rejected the involvement of forces
from the United States or other foreign governments in patrolling
the shipping lane, saying it would infringe on its sovereignty
and attract rather than repel terrorism.

Indonesia also insisted on Friday that outsiders were
unwelcome on patrols in the strait because security was the
responsibility of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

"Indonesia's position is clear. We believe that the
responsibility for maritime security in the Malacca Strait
belongs to the littoral states, including Indonesia," foreign
ministry spokesman Yuri Thamrin said.

Singapore's defense minister Teo Chee Hean said on Thursday in
Jakarta that Japan was considering a role in multinational
patrols in the strait.

Thamrin said that while such a move was unwanted, Indonesia
would welcome assistance aimed at strengthening its navy.

La Fleur agreed that the three littoral states had the primary
responsibility of dealing with pirate attacks.

"If there are ways that we can help, then certainly we are
prepared to talk."