Malaysia, Indonesia Team up to Fight Piracy
An increase of incidents of piracy and armed robbery in SouthEast Asia has prompted Malaysian and Indonesian law enforcement to form a joint rapid deployment team in response, says a report in Reuters.
According to reports, the joint force will deploy three helicopters to secure the Strait of Malacca, two of which will be supplied by Indonesia and one of which will be supplied by Malaysia.
First Admiral Maritime Zulkifili bin Abu Bakar, director of maritime matters in the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)'s crime investigations department told Reuters that they would deploy a helicopter-equipped special task and rescue (STAR) team at Johor Bahru.
He added that Malaysian and Indonesian navies would form a similar rapid reaction force in the area.
Over 70 ships have reportedly been attacked in the Malacca and Singapore straits this year — the highest statistic since 2008 — with seven incident at the end of last week.
"We have in general recommended that vessels proceeding to Singapore and passing Malaysian waters take appropriate security measures," said Michael Storgaard, spokesman for the world's biggest shipping firm Maersk Line.
The maritime operations company Dryad Maritime had criticized local authorities for their lack of involvement, having said that the "response of deploying a patrol boat to the area after the event can be seen as too little, too late."
Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia already coordinate naval and police patrols in the Malacca Strait and South China Sea, but have been hampered by a lack of resources, while sheltered coasts and islands make it easy for robbers to operate.
