RI, Singapore and Malaysia to sign pact on Malacca patrol
RI, Singapore and Malaysia to sign pact on Malacca patrol
Tiarma Siboro, Jakarta
The top military commanders of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia
are scheduled to meet on July 20 in Batam, Riau Islands province,
Indonesia, to sign an agreement on security patrols in the Strait
of Malacca.
Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said on
Wednesday that under the agreement, the three neighboring
counties would take turns carrying out year-round naval patrols
in the strait to combat or prevent acts of terrorism and other
crimes.
Patrolling forces would be allowed to cross the sea borders of
the two other countries while chasing criminal or terror suspects
in the waterway, he said.
"We understand the strategic value of the strait, through
which some 50,000 ships belonging to many countries pass each
year. They want it secure and they would be glad to help do so,"
Endiartono said after a coordination meeting on political and
security affairs.
He said that he and his Malaysian and Singaporean counterparts
were ready to cooperate with other countries in ensuring security
in the strait, but stressed that the three countries would be
fully responsible for the actual patrols.
He was quick to add that cooperation with other countries,
including the United States, was possible but only in the form of
intelligence exchanges, joint training and capacity enhancement.
Security in the strait -- a strategic waterway connecting
ports in Europe, the Middle East and Asia -- came under the
spotlight following a statement by Adm. Thomas Fargo, head of the
U.S. Pacific Command, that U.S. forces might assist in patrolling
the strait to prevent terrorists from targeting ships in the
waterway.
The U.S. believes the al-Qaeda terrorist network and its
regional network Jamaah Islamiyah would like to launch an attack
in the strait, where chemical and oil tankers mingle with small
craft that could carry suicide attackers.
Singapore was initially open to U.S. involvement in securing
the strait, but Indonesia and Malaysia immediately voiced strong
reservations.
More than a quarter of the world's goods and oil passes
through the narrow strait, which straddle Indonesia, Malaysia and
Singapore, and although the waterway has seen no major terrorist
acts, piracy is rampant.