Indonesia, Malaysia to beef up security in Malacca Straits

Indonesia and Malaysia on Friday agreed to strengthen their maritime cooperation to tighten security in the Malacca Strait due to several accidents in the waters between the two countries recently, Indonesian Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said.

Minister Sudarsono made the statement in a joint press conference with his Malaysian counterpart Tun Najib Razak after days of regular meeting between the armed forces of the countries.

Despite the presence of the coordinated patrol among the littoral states, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Sudarsono said that it was possible terrorist uses the narrow sea lane to launch strikes.

Indonesia and Malaysia agreed to "strengthening of maritime cooperation for the security of the Malacca Straits," he said.

"Scores of incident have occurred in spots between the two countries in past years," said Sudarsono.

Indonesia and Malaysia have engaged in armed forces cooperation coordinated by the General Border Comittee.

A number of obstacles have appeared to be hindrance, such as terrorism, illegal logging, and smuggling, Minister Sudarsono said.

Najibh Razak, who is also the deputy of the Malaysian Prime Minister said that both countries need to beef up their cooperation in security.

"We need a tough cooperation in the border," he said.

The deputy said that the Malacca Straits has been excluded from the war risk zone classification.

He cited that the smuggling and piracy in the sea have decreased from 228 cases in 2005 to 142 cases in 2006.

One of the busiest waterways in the world, the 900-kilometer- long straits had been plagued by piracy and ship hijacking for many years.

Since last year, the littoral states of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have strengthened patrols along the straits through waters and air.

Source: Xinhua