Show of force launched to protect vital strait

Fadli/Endy M. Bayuni, On board the 'KRI Tanjung Dalpele', Strait of Malacca

Seventeen warships from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, sailing in formation, passed the KRI Tanjung Dalpele on Tuesday in a clear show of force as the three countries' navies began a coordinated patrol aimed at stamping out piracy in the Strait of Malacca.

Launching the Malsindo, a 24/7 all-year round operation, Indonesia's Military Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said the door was open for other countries that have an interest in the safety and security of the strait, a vital international shipping lane, to take part either directly or indirectly.

The three littoral states would welcome offers of support and assistance from other countries, in the form of equipment or training, he said. "If they want to join, it should first be approved by all three countries."

Also on board the KRI Tanjung Dalpele were Endriartono's counterparts Gen. Zahidi Zainuddin of Malaysia and Lt. Gen. Ng Yat Chung of Singapore, and the three navy chiefs, admirals Bernard Kent Sondakh of Indonesia, Mohd. Anwar Mohd. Nor of Malaysia and Ronny Tay of Singapore.

The coordinated operation is the result of months of negotiations -- some conducted at golf clubs, according to one senior Navy officer -- between the three navy chiefs as they sought to resolve the growing problem of piracy.

The Strait of Malacca, linking the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea, is a narrow 600-kilometer stretch of water used by more than 50,000 commercial shipping companies each year, carrying more than one-third of the global shipping trade and one-half of the world's crude oil shipment.

All Japan's crude oil needs come from ships that pass through the strait. South Korea and China also rely extensively on crude supplies shipped through it.

The International Maritime Bureau, an arm of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, said that in 2003, there were 28 pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca. Most of the attacks took place in Indonesian waters.

What triggered the negotiations was a speech by Admiral Tom Fargo, commander of the Honolulu-based U.S. Pacific Command, in Congress in March, in which he broached his Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI) that calls for partnership among countries in the Asia-Pacific to enhance maritime security.

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the U.S. has also expressed concern at the possibility of terrorists using the Strait of Malacca to launch their attacks, using local pirates to help their cause. Such a scenario could create havoc, not only in shipping activities in the Malacca Strait, but also in the world economy, given the importance of the shipping lane.

However, Singapore's suggestion in March to bring in the United States in patrolling the Strait of Malacca was quickly rebuked by both Indonesia and Malaysia, who said that this would entail questions of sovereignty.

The coordinated patrol was also preferred to a joint operation, which would have meant that all three navies worked under one command. Whether this option is effective will only be known in the coming months.

The coordinated patrol is a compromise in which each navy will continue to be in charge and responsible for the safety of their respective waters, but allowing for the possibility of a warship from one country to enter another, either in hot pursuit of a pirate ship, or in response to a distress call.

The three navies have also opened a 24-hour hotline that will keep them continuously in contact as they each patrol their own waters. Each country is committed to provide between five to seven ships for the maintenance of security in the strait. The possible participation of other countries will be discussed when Indonesia hosts a meeting of all navy chiefs in the Asia-Pacific region later this year.

"We are not the only three countries that have an interest in maintaining security in the Malacca Strait," Endriartono said.