Navy sends 6 warships to combat piracy

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Navy has deployed only six warships and a number of reconnaissance planes specifically to rid the country's territorial waters in the Malacca Straits of pirates and arms smugglers.

Navy spokesman First Adm. Franky Kayhatu told reporters on Friday that a fleet of 26 ships and 10 aircraft were conducting daily patrols throughout the nation's waters, including in the piracy-prone zone.

"We have deployed three warships on a permanent basis to guard the waters off Aceh to prevent arms smuggling and three others to contain pirate attacks on cargo vessels passing through the Malacca Straits," Kayhatu said.

"The Navy does not only focus on efforts to prevent piracy and arms smuggling, but also on helping curb people trafficking from overseas," he said.

But Kayhatu said the Navy would step up measures in response to an increase in the number of pirate attacks.

He was commenting on a recent report issued by the Kuala Lumpur-based International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) saying that Indonesia's territory waters in the Malacca Straits were the most susceptible waters in the world to piracy.

The ICC reported 335 cases of piracy in 2001, 91 of which took place in Indonesian waters. The report said the pirates had also kidnapped people and demanded ransoms during their actions in the northern part of the straits and of Aceh.

An Indonesian vessel, the MV Inabukwa, fell victim to pirates in March last year, with the 22 crew members forced to abandon the ship. A Honduran ship, the TB Ocean Silver, which was carrying coal, was also seized by pirates last year.

Some 600 vessels pass through the straits separating Indonesia and Malaysia everyday, making it the busiest sea zone in the world.

Kayhatu said the Navy had searched 48 ships in the straits over the past month. The force's patrol ships also managed to foil several attempts to smuggle arms into Aceh last year, he added.

He said the Navy would need at least 75 more warships, including 56 high speed patrol boats, two submarines and seven corvettes in order to reach the minimum level of strength necessary.

In the short term, Indonesia is expected to buy 10 reinforcement ships comprising cargo vessels and missile-armed warships.

The archipelagic country now has only 114 warships, compared to Thailand's 130, Singapore's 60, Malaysia's 56, Australia's 60 and India's 180 warships.