RI opposes U.S. deployment in Malacca Straits
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Indonesia has joined Malaysia in opposing a United States plan to deploy troops in the Malacca Straits, arguing that Indonesia and Malaysia were solely responsible for guarding one of the world's busiest waterways.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Marty Natalegawa said that a 1982 maritime convention clearly stipulated that Indonesia and Malaysia had the right to ensure security of navigation in the Malacca Straits.
"We (Indonesia and Malaysia) are committed to fighting terrorist threats, including those that might take place at sea," Marty told The Jakarta Post by phone on Tuesday.
Marty was commenting on a statement by the U.S. military commander in the Asia Pacific region, Adm. Thomas Fargo, that his country was considering deploying marines and special forces on high speed vessels along the Malacca Straits to thwart terrorists in one of the world's busiest waterways.
Fargo said that the deployment of U.S. forces along the narrow straits was part of Washington's new counterterrorism initiative to help Southeast Asia.
His statement immediately drew a strong reaction from neighboring Malaysia.
Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said last week that Kuala Lumpur had no plans to seek military help from the United States to guard the Malacca Straits against possible attacks on commercial ships by Islamic militants.
The task of guarding the world's busiest shipping lane, Najib said, was the joint responsibility of Malaysia and Indonesia.
More than a quarter of the world's trade and oil passes through the narrow straits, which straddle Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, and although the waterway has seen no major terrorist acts, piracy is rampant.
Security experts have warned of the possibility of an alliance between the pirates and terrorists, something that has made the waterway a key focus of the US military's Regional Maritime Security Initiative.
Meanwhile, Singapore confirmed Tuesday it had held talks with the United States over the possibility of US forces protecting the Malacca Straits from terrorists.
"Maritime security is obviously a key concern for Singapore. We have been having discussions on this subject at multilateral forums as well as with a number of countries, including the US," a defense ministry spokeswoman was quoted as saying by AFP.
"Combating the threats of piracy and maritime terrorism requires the efforts of both the regional countries and extra- regional countries that have a stake in the safety and freedom of navigation in regional waters," she said.
However, the spokeswoman declined to explicitly confirm Fargo's claim that Singapore fully backed the US plan to deploy soldiers in the straits.
Marty said the United States had never discussed the plan with Indonesia, and indeed "we are keen to ensure that none of its policies contravene the (1982) convention."
"There have been general discussions about transportation safety at sea and the threat of terrorism. But until now, we (Indonesia and the U.S.) have never discussed the deployment of American troops at particular places inside our territory," Marty said.