Foreign Military help Needed to Secure Malacca Strait
From: INQ7.net
Gurpreet Khurana, research fellow at India’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, said the 2003 seizure of a tanker off Indonesian water by 10 armed men to learn how to steer a ship had led to anxieties it could be a “precursor of a maritime 9/11.”
Joint patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are inadequate to secure the Malacca Straits if there is a major terrorist strike and foreign military help should be considered, experts said Tuesday.The three states straddling the strategic waterway launched coordinated maritime patrols in 2004 and air patrols last year after prodding from Washington, which feared terrorists could link up with pirates to blow up an oil tanker or use it as a floating bomb.
However, the three nations rejected foreign military help. Malaysia and Indonesia shot down a US proposal in 2004 to send an elite unit to help secure the pirate-infested strait.
The overall capabilities of the three littoral states are “evidently inadequate to provide a lasting security in the strait,” which remains a vulnerable maritime choke point, said Gurpreet Khurana, research fellow at India’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis.
He said the 2003 seizure of a tanker off Indonesian water by 10 armed men to learn how to steer a ship had led to anxieties it could be a “precursor of a maritime 9/11.”
Some analysts viewed it as equivalent to terrorists who took flying lessons at Florida flight school before the 9/11 attack in the United States five years ago.
“It may be necessary for the littorals to contemplate guidelines — Standard Operating Procedures and Rules of Engagement — for joint patrols in the straits,” Khurana said in a paper presented at a regional maritime conference here.
Pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait, which links Asia with Europe and the Middle East, fell to 12 last year, down from 38 in 2004. Each year, more than 50,000 ships, carrying half the world’s oil and a third of its commerce, navigate the waterway.
Khurana said it would be tough for terrorists to physically block the Malacca Straits with a capsized vessel but a terror attack on a hub-port or a cruise liner would cause widespread fears sufficient to disrupt maritime commerce.
In such a scenario, vessels will be forced to take alternate straits, Sunda or Lombok Makassar, increasing their sailing distance by at least three more days, he said. It will also lead to a steep surge in insurance and freight rates.
“The global economic impact from this or the closure of one of the hub ports would be disastrous for global economy due to disruptions to inventory and production cycles,” he warned.
Takashi Ichioka, managing director of Japan’s Nippon Maritime Center, said security in the strait needed to be bolstered.
“Rampant violence and kidnapping of seafarers are still constant worry to Japan,” he said in his paper. “It is time to create a new framework for cooperation in which both the littoral states and users will join.”
Abdul Rahim Hussin, Malaysia’s maritime security policy director, said the three states spent one billion dollars between 1984 and 1997 to develop strait infrastructure such as buoys, lighthouses and radars.
He said the three nations and the International Maritime Organization would hold a conference in Kuala Lumpur from September 18-20 to discuss security.
Gurpreet Khurana, research fellow at India’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis, said the 2003 seizure of a tanker off Indonesian water by 10 armed men to learn how to steer a ship had led to anxieties it could be a “precursor of a maritime 9/11.”
Joint patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore are inadequate to secure the Malacca Straits if there is a major terrorist strike and foreign military help should be considered, experts said Tuesday.The three states straddling the strategic waterway launched coordinated maritime patrols in 2004 and air patrols last year after prodding from Washington, which feared terrorists could link up with pirates to blow up an oil tanker or use it as a floating bomb.
However, the three nations rejected foreign military help. Malaysia and Indonesia shot down a US proposal in 2004 to send an elite unit to help secure the pirate-infested strait.
The overall capabilities of the three littoral states are “evidently inadequate to provide a lasting security in the strait,” which remains a vulnerable maritime choke point, said Gurpreet Khurana, research fellow at India’s Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis.
He said the 2003 seizure of a tanker off Indonesian water by 10 armed men to learn how to steer a ship had led to anxieties it could be a “precursor of a maritime 9/11.”
Some analysts viewed it as equivalent to terrorists who took flying lessons at Florida flight school before the 9/11 attack in the United States five years ago.
“It may be necessary for the littorals to contemplate guidelines — Standard Operating Procedures and Rules of Engagement — for joint patrols in the straits,” Khurana said in a paper presented at a regional maritime conference here.
Pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait, which links Asia with Europe and the Middle East, fell to 12 last year, down from 38 in 2004. Each year, more than 50,000 ships, carrying half the world’s oil and a third of its commerce, navigate the waterway.
Khurana said it would be tough for terrorists to physically block the Malacca Straits with a capsized vessel but a terror attack on a hub-port or a cruise liner would cause widespread fears sufficient to disrupt maritime commerce.
In such a scenario, vessels will be forced to take alternate straits, Sunda or Lombok Makassar, increasing their sailing distance by at least three more days, he said. It will also lead to a steep surge in insurance and freight rates.
“The global economic impact from this or the closure of one of the hub ports would be disastrous for global economy due to disruptions to inventory and production cycles,” he warned.
Takashi Ichioka, managing director of Japan’s Nippon Maritime Center, said security in the strait needed to be bolstered.
“Rampant violence and kidnapping of seafarers are still constant worry to Japan,” he said in his paper. “It is time to create a new framework for cooperation in which both the littoral states and users will join.”
Abdul Rahim Hussin, Malaysia’s maritime security policy director, said the three states spent one billion dollars between 1984 and 1997 to develop strait infrastructure such as buoys, lighthouses and radars.
He said the three nations and the International Maritime Organization would hold a conference in Kuala Lumpur from September 18-20 to discuss security.
posted by John Chadwell | 6:35 AM
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