Malaysia will provide aerial protection over its waters in the Malacca Strait, a Malaysian official said on Monday.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency will use "fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to conduct aerial surveillance over the national maritime zone" in the Malacca Strait, said M.Kayveas, deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

The aerial surveillance will focus on areas that are prone to intruders, he told Dewan Rakyat, the House of Representatives.

The move is also to protect local fishermen, he said, but did not say when the exercise would start.

Only three piracy cases in the Strait were reported in the fist half of this year, the official said, adding that there were 18 piracy cases there for the whole of last year.

Source: Xinhua