KL rejects U.S, patrols in Strait of Malacca

KL rejects U.S, patrols in Strait of Malacca

Hazlin Hassan Agence France-Presse Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia on Tuesday rejected U.S. anti-terrorism patrols in the Malacca Straits and criticized Singapore for apparently suggesting it was incapable of protecting the crucial waterway.

"We take strong objection to any suggestions that any third country should be involved in determining the safety or security of the Malacca Straits," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid told a news conference.

"I think the prime responsibility is with the littoral states themselves."

Syed Hamid angrily brushed aside comments by Singapore's Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean seen as hinting that Malaysia needed U.S. help to safeguard the narrow waterway, which slices peninsular Malaysia and Singapore from the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

"We are as interested as they are to ensure the safety and security of navigation in that area," he said.

Teo said on Monday that security along the Malacca Straits, which carry a quarter of the world's trade and half its oil on some 50,000 ships a year, was "not adequate" as the vessels were natural targets for Al-Qaeda and other terrorists.

"No single state has the resources to deal effectively with this threat," he said.

The top U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Thomas Fargo, said earlier this month that the U.S. was considering the possibility of deploying U.S. forces in the Straits as part of its counterterrorism efforts in Southeast Asia.

The region is home to the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terror network accused of deadly attacks in Indonesia, including the 2002 Bali bombing which killed more than 200 people.

Syed Hamid suggested Teo's comments could hinder efforts to improve the sometimes testy relationship between Malaysia and Singapore.

"Getting into public debate in the media is not going to help in creating goodwill and understanding," he said.

"If Singapore is not happy, if you have got any concerns or worries, it is not for you just to invite a third country to protect the Straits," he said.

"We are trying to avoid as much as possible any debate in the open that can create misunderstanding between our two countries," he said.

"I suggest to him (Teo) that if he has concerns, the best way is to talk to Malaysia, but don't invite a third country to safeguard something that will endanger Malaysia's sovereignty,"

"We should take advantage of the good environment at present that exists between Malaysia and Singapore in order not to open up new issues that become a bone of contention between the two countries." he said

Ties between the neighbors have been prickly due to long- running disputes over many issues including the price at which Malaysia sells water to the resource-starved city-state, a proposed new bridge linking the two and the use of Malaysian airspace by Singaporean aircraft.