Malaysia tells foreign powers to stay away from Malacca Straits
Foreign powers must not dictate how Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia protect the adjoining Malacca Straits shipping lanes from threats such as piracy and terrorism, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister said on Monday.
“The Straits of Malacca are ours to protect and preserve,” Najib Razak, who is also defense minister, said at a conference on improving security in the pirate-infested waters.
“There are those who forget that the (countries bordering the straits), each of them sovereign nations in their own right, have the ultimate say over the protection and preservation of the straits,” he said.
Najib did not name any country. However, Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, said in March that an American plan to heighten security in the waterway might require a detachment of elite U.S. troops to be stationed nearby.
Indonesia has rejected the U.S. plan. Singapore _ traditionally a strong ally of Washington _ has embraced it.
Najib said any assumption that foreign countries whose ships pass through the straits can use them for military purposes “reflects a lack of respect for the rights of littoral states and a misunderstanding of international law.”
Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia all have littoral areas, or coastlines, along the Straits of Malacca. About 50,000 ships ply the narrow passage each year.
The United States has warned that terrorists could seize vessels for use as “floating bombs” to blow up key ports or cities, though no such plots have been reported.
Indonesia’s navy chief, Adm. Bernard Kent Sondakh, said in a recent media interview that terrorism and piracy threats in the straits were overblown.
He suggested that foreign governments, including Washington, were playing up the threat because they are interested in controlling the waterway for economic reasons.
“The world economy is now moving toward the Asia-Pacific. Whoever controls the Malacca Straits, the Sunda Straits and the Makassar Straits controls the economy of the Asia Pacific,” Najib said. The Sunda and Makassar straits are other waterways in the area.
About 20 pirate attacks were reported in the Straits of Malacca in the first six months of this year. Joint naval patrols by the adjoining countries have curbed piracy, according to officials from all three.
Speaking to reporters Monday, Najib said his country will listen to security-building ideas from other countries, including the United States, as long as they do not infringe on Malaysia’s sovereignty.