Piracy could weaken E. Asia's economic miracle

Piracy could weaken E. Asia's economic miracle

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Rampant piracy in East Asian waters -- often organized by international syndicates -- could undermine the region's economic development, an expert warned on Tuesday.

Inter-Asian shipping is now busier than the transatlantic route, said Hiroshi Terashima, executive director of Japan's Nippon Foundation.

"However, the vital role played by marine transport is now being threatened by international criminal syndicates, something that could undermine the basis for development in each country and affect individual people all across Asia," he told an anti- piracy conference.

Some 40 experts from 13 countries began a two-day meeting to discuss greater cooperation to combat piracy.

The focus is on the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes with 600 vessels a day and also the world's most pirate-infested channel.

The Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center has said the number of attacks in the strait is at "an all-time high" this year due to political instability in Indonesia.

Malaysian marine police have reported 52 actual or attempted attacks in the strait in the first 10 months, up from only five for the whole of last year.

The conference, which follows earlier meetings this year in Singapore and Tokyo, is organized by the Malaysian government with support from the Nippon Foundation -- a non-profit group which supports shipbuilding and funds maritime safety measures.

Officials from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part.

Debate will center on strengthening regional cooperation, the feasibility of setting up a regional focal point or intelligence network, and legal issues on maritime navigation.

Malaysia's Deputy Home Minister Chor Chee Heung told reporters his government is committed to fighting piracy but needed help. "We require genuine cooperation with Indonesia and Singapore. We need a lot more political will from neighboring countries," he said.

Japan's delegation chief said force alone would not end attacks. "We need a social and economic approach," Shogo Arai, a Coast Guard commandant, told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting.

Many pirates, he said, live in poor coastal villages in Indonesia and face numerous social problems. Indonesia is the world's most pirate-prone nation.

Abdul Rahim Hussin, director of Malaysia's Maritime Security Policy unit, agreed that economic assistance and job opportunities could reduce the threat. "If we can fill their stomachs, they will not embark on piracy activities," he told AFP.

Japan, whose economic lifeline is the Malacca Strait, has expressed deep concern at mounting attacks.

Arai said Japan would not mount its own patrols in the waterway but was willing to provide other assistance such as joint training and exchange of intelligence.

On Wednesday Malaysian marine police will hold a sea drill on board a Japanese coast guard vessel in the strait.

Abdul Rahim suggested Japan pass on some of its older communications equipment and other gear to other Asian nations to stamp out piracy. "We must not allow them to thrive. We must nip them in the bud," he said.

The Piracy Reporting Center said in its latest report that piracy worldwide is set to hit a 10-year high this year. It listed 294 actual or attempted attacks in the first nine months compared to 300 for the whole of last year.

The center, part of the International Maritime Bureau, said seven areas shared more than two-thirds of the total -- Indonesia (90), Bangladesh (32), the Strait of Malacca (32), India (23), Malaysia (15), the Red Sea (8) and Ecuador (8).