Malaysia, S'pore to boost security in strait

Malaysia, S'pore to boost security in strait

Agence France-Presse Putrajaya, Malaysia

Malaysia and Singapore on Tuesday agreed to increase cooperation to fight terrorism and improve maritime security, particularly in the pirate-infested Malacca Strait amid signs of improving bilateral ties.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Singapore counterpart Tony Tan, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, underlined the importance of boosting security cooperation to curb the threat of terrorism.

"We agree that cooperation should not stop where it is at now but we should review and explore new ways to enhance cooperation in the field of security," Najib told reporters after a 45-minute meeting with Tan.

Najib, who is also defense minister, said armed forces officials from both countries would soon meet to identify new ways to bolster security, especially maritime security.

"We are fairly confident, we are on top of things but we are not taking anything for granted," he said, adding that "our main concern is the question of maritime security."

Malaysia has not suffered any terror attacks on its soil but has detained some 90 alleged militants suspected of belonging to regional militant groups such as the al-Qaeda-linked Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which carried out the 2002 Bali bombing in Indonesia which killed 202 people.

Najib however ruled out joint naval patrols in the Malacca Strait, saying territorial integrity must be respected.

"At the moment, we are not considering joint patrols," he said.

The narrow, 960-kilometer waterway, through which about half the world's oil supplies and a third of global trade passes, runs along the coasts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore recently launched year-round coordinated naval patrols in the strait.

Singapore and the United States have expressed fears of terror attacks involving hijacked ships in the strait.

Pirate attacks in the strait rose 33 percent between January and June from a year ago, the International Maritime Bureau said on Monday.

Tan, who is also Singapore's coordinating minister for security and defense, said cooperation would continue to strengthen as the neighbors faced new terror threats.

"The field of security and defense keeps on changing. We face new threats fighting against radical terrorism. We have to work together," he said.

Tan said defense and security officials from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia would get together to exchange ideas to strengthen cooperation.

"We agreed we should move forward from the coordinated patrols in order to see what the three of us can take to enhance security," he said.