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.