You have commented 338 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Southeast Asia
Straits terror attack alert
2010-03-05
[Straits Times] SINGAPORE, Malaysia and Indonesia said on Thursday they are stepping up security in the Strait of Malacca, a key shipping lane for world trade, following warnings of possible attacks on oil tankers in the area.

The Singapore Navy has received indications a terror group is planning attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Malacca, the Singapore Shipping Association said in an advisory.

The Singapore Navy recommended ships using the strait between Indonesia and Malaysia strengthen security measures. Malaysia's coast guard has already stepped up security in the narrow waterway that tankers use to carry oil from the Middle East to Japan and China.

Indonesia said it is stepping up security there as well, Defence Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro told Reuters. 'We will increase the security and step up patrols in that area. Oil tankers can pass, but we will increase our readiness,' he said.

An attack that closed the Strait of Malacca or the Singapore port even temporarily could have a disproportionate impact on global trade, since Singapore is the world's top container shipping port and biggest ship refuelling hub.

The Singapore Shipping Association said its warning did not preclude possible attacks on other large vessels besides tankers. A Thai naval attache in Singapore said the original warning came from Japan, which informed the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) that ships in the Strait could be hijacked. The IMB then warned regional navies of a possible piracy attack, he said.

'Later, they changed the term to 'terrorist attack' as there was fear that they could use heavy weapons to attack these ships,' the Thai attache, Captain Sutheepong Kaewtab, said.

IMB spokesman Noel Choong said it had received the information from a foreign government agency. 'It is a terror threat,' Kuala Lumpur-based Choong said when asked whether it was a terror threat or piracy.
Posted by:Fred

00:00