Navy sends 6 warships to combat piracy

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.