Thailand may join Malacca Strait patrols

Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The three littoral states -- Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore -- planned to invite Thailand to participate in the joint patrol to secure the Strait of Malacca, recognizing that more "eyes" are required to guard the busy international shipping lane.

Malaysian Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Dato Ilyas bin Haji Din said here on Monday that the invitation for Thailand to join the coordinated patrol would be officially discussed at a meeting of high-ranking military officials from the three countries in Batam, Riau Islands, sometime in the next two weeks.

"During the recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur, there were new initiatives that we have reached, including the invitation for Thailand to guard the northern side of the Strait of Malacca," Ilyas told journalists.

He was referring to the meeting in Kuala Lumpur last week, when the military chiefs of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore agreed to enhance cooperation in securing the Strait of Malacca.

"We have also set up a working group to explore in detail the concept of an 'eye in the sky' that my country had proposed ... and I guess these are considered as new initiatives that we have concluded in the recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur," Ilyas added.

The 'eye in the sky' is a security concept that emphasizes aerial surveillance of the territory of the three countries. Under the concept, Malaysia said that security personnel of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand will fly aboard an aircraft to monitor security along the water way.

Ilyas said the concept was necessary because an aircraft could mobilize faster than a patrol boats to tackle threats and hunt down criminals in the strait.

Ilyas' visit to Indonesia was aimed at improving cooperation in the field of defense and security, especially in the sea territory.

Accompanied by Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Slamet Subiyanto, Ilyas met with Indonesian Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono on Monday.

Last week, a meeting was held in Batam and attended by the foreign ministers and state officials of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. During the forum, they agreed to welcome "any cooperation with ASEAN countries and the strait's users in a bid to improve security and safety along the maritime territory."

In the wake of terrorism issues, the United States has offered assistance to guard the Strait of Malacca, but it will probably have to wait for further arrangements by the three littoral states on the participation of "other foreign countries".

Apart from the United States, other countries, including Japan, China and South Korea, have also expressed interests in helping to provide security along the strait, where their ships that carry crude oil and supplies regularly pass.

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 ships each year, carrying more than one-third of the world's shipping trade and half of the world's crude oil shipments.