RI, Malaysia can safeguard Malacca Strait, U.S. says

RI, Malaysia can safeguard Malacca Strait, U.S. says

Veeramalla Anjaiah, Jakarta

In a clear attempt to calm down Indonesia and Malaysia, a
senior U.S. diplomat emphasized on Monday the two countries were
more than capable of safeguarding the Strait of Malacca and
played down the possibility the superpower would deploy its
troops there.

"There are lots of strange stories. We have no intentions in
the Malacca Straits. The Malacca Strait is an international
strait with a lot of Singapore, a lot of Indonesia and a lot of
Malaysia in it. Indonesia and Malaysia are capable of
safeguarding this strait," James A. Kelly, U.S. assistant
secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, said in
Jakarta.

Indonesia and Malaysia said on Friday there was no terrorist
threat to ships passing through the strait and they did not need
any help from outside in safeguarding it. Singapore and the U.S.
had earlier expressed concern the international waterway might be
vulnerable to terror strikes and said outside help would be
needed to face the problem.

Kelly said while there had not yet been any terrorist attacks
in the strait, it was still possible terrorists would strike at
this vital route between East Asia and the West.

"LNG (liquefied natural gas) tankers pass through this strait.
Luckily, we've never had any explosion on any LNG tanker. Can you
imagine what would happen if terrorists attacked a LNG tanker?"
Kelly said.

Kelly reiterated the U.S. had no plan to send its troops to
the strait without prior discussions with the concerned
countries.

"It's not a unilateral approach but a multilateral one," he
said.

Kelly, in Indonesia to attend the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations Regional Forum (ARF) senior officials meeting in
Yogyakarta from May 11 to May 12, met Indonesian foreign minister
Hassan Wirayuda and other officials on Monday ahead of his trip
to Yogyakarta.

On the Iraqi prisoner issue, Kelly said the torture of Iraqi
prisoners by U.S. soldiers was unfortunate and hurting the United
States' image in the world.

Kelly said the abuse was not discussed during his talks with
Hassan.

However, Reuters reported Hassan had urged the United States
on Monday to take action against troops accused of abusing
prisoners in Iraq.

"We strongly deplore acts such as (the torture). We hope the
U.S. government takes action as they have promised to give no
legal immunity to the perpetrators of those cruel acts," Hassan
said after his meeting with Kelly on Monday.

Meanwhile, speaking about the prospect of talks between the
U.S and North Korea, Kelly said Indonesia had played a helpful
role in trying to resolve the North Korean nuclear stalemate.

"I appreciated very much minister Wirayuda's comments on that
topic," Kelly said.

Though Indonesia is not a participant in the six-party talks
aimed at resolving the nuclear crisis, it has long-maintained
cordial relations with the reclusive communist North.

Hassan recently returned from a visit to Pyongyang, South
Korea and China. North Korea is scheduled to attend the ARF
ministerial meeting in Jakarta next month.