The increased cooperation among the littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore has reduced the incidence of piracy along the Straits of Malacca dramatically, Malaysian deputy prime minister Najib Tun Razak said, local media reported on Monday.
Describing the cooperation as very good, the deputy prime minister said the better co-ordinated patrols and new initiatives like the "eyes in the sky" air surveillance had resulted in the Straits of Malacca being declassified from being a war risk zone by Lloyds of London.
This, he said, had brought tangible economic benefits as ship owners now paid lower insurance premiums on their ships.
In addition, the improved security along the straits had also helped Malaysia promote ports like Port Klang, Penang Port and the Port of Tanjung Pelepas, The Star reported.
Najib, who is also the defence minister, said this in an interview in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia, in conjunction with the 1st Asia Pacific Intelligence Chiefs Conference to be held over 3 days in Kuala Lumpur from Wednesday.
Intelligence chiefs from 22 countries including the United States, Britain, France, China, South Korea, India and South Africa will be taking part in the conference organized by the Defence Ministry and the Malaysian Armed Forces in cooperation with the United States' Department of Defence.
Najib said the objective of the conference, themed "To Enhance Capacity of Intelligence and Information Sharing", was to enhance relations and cooperation among the participating countries in addressing security matters and combating present and future threats.
Source: Xinhua
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