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| Southeast Asia |
| Malaysian PM: Security Of Malacca Straits Responsibility Of Three Nations |
| 2005-05-21 |
| (Prime Minister} Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stressed that security in the Straits of Melaka (Malacca) is the responsibility of the security authorities of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and not private or civilian parties. "Our (Malaysia's) opinion is that it's better for the monitoring to be done by the security authorities of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia," he told a news conference at the end of the first day of his visit to the Netherlands... the issue of security in the Melaka Strait was raised by the Netherlands Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenande at their meeting Thursday night. "...Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are serious about the matter and give priority to monitoring security of the shipping route in the Melaka Straits," [Abdullah] said. The prime minister said he told Balkenande that the three nations wanted to ensure that ships passing the straits were safe at all times. He also told Balkenande that the security authorities of the three countries needed whatever technological assistance and contribution they could get to ensure effective monitoring. The technology could be in the form of surveillance technology for use by aircraft to monitor and detect the passage of ships. Asked about the possibility of setting up a maritime enforcement force like the Coast Guard for the Melaka Straits, the prime minister said it would involve a high cost. He said Malaysia would use its marine police and navy to monitor security control in the Melaka Straits and the South China Sea. Of greater importance was cooperation among the parties concerned to further enhance their capabilty and performance in security control... |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #5 The problem here is international law which allows states to do whatever they like in relation to civilian vessels in their territorial waters. International law locks in a 'solution' irrespective of whether it works or not. It will take at least one and probably multiple major highjacking incidents before anything changes, like allowing armed guards on ships. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2005-05-21 18:13 |
| #4 So he's saying that although a private force is out of the question, it's still too expensive for his country to do it? |
| Posted by: Phil Fraering 2005-05-21 17:18 |
| #3 and may cut off the skimming from the sales of the booty? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2005-05-21 16:43 |
| #2 The only worthwhile of those 3 forces are the Singaporeans. I suspect all of the pirates are either Malays or Indos, prolly related to the members of the forces, or know who to threaten. This is also whining from them, worried that a REAL force like the US Navy is required for the job. |
| Posted by: Brett 2005-05-21 16:05 |
| #1 Does that mean we get to bill the three nations if a ship gets hijacked? |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2005-05-21 13:37 |