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Wednesday August 9, 2006

Straits no more a war risk zone

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PUTRAJAYA:The Straits of Malacca is no longer a war risk zone.

The Lloyd’s Market Association’s Joint War Committee (JWC) had on Monday removed the busy waterway from its war risk list that included 50 other countries.

The move is a relief to the littoral states of Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. The Straits of Malacca was placed in the list for more than a year.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the London-based association’s JWC removed the Straits from the list on Monday after it was convinced that “significant improvement” in security had been made in the area.

“Malaysia welcomes the decision and we are pleased that Straits of Malacca is no longer considered a war risk area,” he told a press conference yesterday.

“This is a positive reflection of the co-operation and efforts undertaken by the littoral states to maintain and enhance security in the area for the benefit of all.

“On behalf of Malaysia, I would like to thank the JWC for reviewing this categorisation and we reaffirm our commitment to maintain security in the Straits.

“We also call upon the international community to assist in the maintenance of the Straits in a manner which is consistent with the spirit of international law and respectful of the role and sovereign rights of the littoral states.”

Reuters quoted the association as saying that there was “significant improvement” in the area’s security, which a year ago had been declared vulnerable to “war, strikes, terrorism and related perils”.

Chan said the JWC’s decision to put the Malacca Straits in the war risk area list in July last year had brought adverse effect on Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, especially in the field of tourism.

“When people talk about war risk zone, it sends a wrong message to the international community. We have since made many attempts to change the committee’s decision, which in our opinion had been made on insufficient basis,” Chan said.

He said that the three countries had taken many initiatives to maintain and enhance security in the Straits including coordinated patrols, the “eye in the sky” air surveillance, and the setting-up of Malaysia’s maritime enforcement agency to tackle security issues along its coast.

According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), 12 attacks were reported to have occurred along the Malacca Straits in 2005, compared with 38 in 2004.

The IMB said there had not been a single reported incident in the Straits since the first quarter of 2005.

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