U.S. denies hidden agenda in Malacca Strait
U.S. denies hidden agenda in Malacca Strait
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur
The United States said on Monday it had no hidden agenda to use
its warships to patrol the Strait of Malacca, one of the word's
busiest sea lanes and a major focus of concerns over global
security.
A U.S. envoy told a conference in Malaysia that Washington's
proposal for a Regional Maritime Security Initiative (RMSI), a
multi-lateral framework for improving security in the strait,
would respect the sovereignty of the waterway's littoral states.
"RMSI is not a stalking horse for U.S. Navy patrols," said
Thomas Daughton, political affairs counselor at the U.S. embassy
in Malaysia. "Patrols can help build security in the Malacca
Strait but they are not part of the RMSI vision...."
U.S. offers to help secure the strait have aroused suspicion
in some of the three main nations flanking it -- Indonesia,
Malaysia and Singapore -- that Washington wants its forces to
play a role in safeguarding the waterway.
The United States denies this and is pursuing RMSI, which
calls for a single coordinating body for security operations in
the waterway.
Malaysia and Indonesia have reacted cautiously to the U.S.
proposals, citing concerns over sovereignty and pointing out that
the waters of the strait -- just a few nautical miles wide in
places -- are mostly national, not international.
"The Straits of Malacca are ours to protect and preserve,"
Malaysian Defense Minister Najib Razak told the conference on
Monday.
"There are those who forget that the (countries bordering the
straits), each of them sovereign nations in their own right, have
the ultimate say over the protection and preservation of the
straits," he said.
"Any assumption that its users have absolute freedom to
utilize it, including for military purposes, reflects a lack of
respect for the rights of littoral states and a misunderstanding
of international law," he added.
The strait has been a haunt for pirates for centuries, but the
Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. cities three years ago fueled
speculation about a possible terror attack on shipping in the
strait, estimated to carry almost a third of world trade.
Doomsday scenarios include a closure of the strait, forcing
freight rates to skyrocket by 500 percent or more as ships
carrying much of Asia's oil requirements make a detour of around
1,000 km through the east of the Indonesian archipelago.
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have begun coordinating
their patrols of the 900 km long waterway but have stopped short
of a joint command and do not allow each other's warships to
chase pirates into another's territorial waters.
"To put it bluntly, someone must be empowered to make a
decision to act on a threat or potential threat, in real time,
and each cooperating state must acknowledge, and know in advance,
who that person is," Daughton said.
Najib told reporters Malaysia was still studying the
ramifications of Washington's RMSI proposal and was open to any
suggestions that would boost the littoral states' capacity to
police the strait. "We can cooperate with the U.S.," he said.