Ministers agree to secure Strait of Malacca

Ministers agree to secure Strait of Malacca

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Foreign ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore agreed
on Tuesday not to involve other countries in securing the
strategic Malacca Strait.

In the two-day meeting in Batam, which was held to discuss
measures to boost security and safety in the waterway, the
ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- which share
sovereignty over the Malacca Strait -- also agreed to regularly
hold similar meetings to discuss the strait. The next one is
planned in the next six months or within a year at the latest.

"We also agreed to improve security and safety in Malacca
Strait by cooperating with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) and the strait's users in a regional meeting," said
foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda.

The meeting in Batam which ended on Tuesday, was held 29 years
after a similar meeting was last held in 1977 in Manila, the
Philippines.

Hassan acknowledged the rising concern over security
disturbances in the strait -- mostly attacks and hijacking by
pirates -- among countries which used the waterway.

"Threats to ships passing the Malacca Strait, according to
statistics, is worrying," he said. "That's why we (the ministers)
met to share our perceptions. A problem faced by one country
could be different from a problem faced by another country. We
tried to reach a common perception and discussed steps that
needed to be taken to ensure the strait's safety, both for
shipping and the environment," Hassan said.

Much of the world's oil and a quarter of its sea-borne goods
pass through the strait each year. The strait is prone to attacks
by pirates, and some countries have expressed fears that Muslim
terrorists may try to launch an attack there.

China had earlier offered to help secure the Malacca Strait,
but Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono gave no further details
of the offer, only reiterating the country's position that
foreign troops were not welcome in the waterway.

"All countries whose oil supply depends on the Malacca Strait,
like China, Japan and Korea, have an interest in securing it,"
Sudarsono was quoted by AP. "But we only want technical
assistance."

Indonesia and Malaysia have already rejected a U.S. offer of
troops.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Teo said that his country
welcomed the meeting but also expressed his willingness to
include ASEAN countries and the strait's users in the meeting
discussing the strait.

"We're very interested in the topic being discussed here.
Singapore's participation in the meeting is also part of our
responsibility over the Malacca Strait. We also wish that
discussion on the Malacca Strait involves ASEAN countries and the
users," George Yeo said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said
the meeting did not discuss bilateral relations between Indonesia
and Malaysia.

"In this meeting we didn't discuss relations between
Indonesian and Malaysia, or certain incidents. We have a special
meeting to talk about the matter, not here," Syed said.

Officials from Indonesia and Malaysia met in Jakarta in March
to resolve territorial dispute in the oil-rich maritime area off
East Kalimantan. The conflict allegedly emerged after the
Malaysian government awarded a contract to energy giant Shell to
develop a deep water oil block in the Sulawesi sea. The
Indonesian government has insisted the Ambalat oil block is
outside Malaysian territory.

Warships had come into close contact several times this year
before the two governments agreed to negotiate to end the
dispute.

In another two-day meeting in Kuala Lumpur, chiefs of defense
forces from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore also agreed on
Tuesday to start coordinated air patrols over the Malacca Strait
by September to quell foreign jitters about security in the key
shipping lane.