Malaysia upbeat on growth of local ports by Presenna Nambiar
The Transport Ministry is optimistic on the growth of Malaysian ports this year, having seen average growth of 15-16 per cent for the first two months of the year. Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said some ports reported even stronger growth so far this year. Bintulu Port, for example, recorded a growth of 48 per cent in boxes in January, while Port of Tanjung Pelepas grew by 35 per cent in the first month. He said the Government has set a growth forecast for ports in Malaysia this year, but he did not want to reveal the figure. Last year, Malaysian ports grew 12.9 per cent to register about 13.6 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), Chan told reporters after opening the three-day National Maritime Conference in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. He represented Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is currently overseas. On Port Klang's global container port ranking at number 15, Chan said Malaysia has done well by being in the top 20 ports in the world, although competition is stiff from other growth centres like China. "When we are talking about 10 or 15 per cent growth, they (China) are talking about 40 per cent growth, so we have to accept the reality that the emergence of China is very significant," he said. Meanwhile, Najib in his speech said Malaysian ports have played a significant role in helping the country achieve record trade over the years. "Ninety five per cent of the country's total trade finds its entry and exit by sea. Sea freight is projected to more than triple to about 751 million tonnes by 2020. "It therefore goes without saying that the efficiency of the entire maritime network is heavily relied upon to support Malaysia's manufacturers and traders," he said. © The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad.

Littoral States Shouldering Heavy Burden, Says Najib
Kuala Lumpur - Although the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) warrants user states of any strait to cooperate with the littoral states in ensuring safety of navigation and prevention of pollution, more often than not, the littoral states end up shouldering the heavy responsibility, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday. The deputy prime minister said that this was indeed the reality in the case of the Straits of Melaka and Singapore whereby the littoral states -- Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore -- had undertaken many initiatives, often incurring substantial investments to ensure the safety and security of the waterways. "Among others, these include maritime security measures, such as coordinated patrols and the "Eyes in the Sky" initiative involving the littoral states' navies and air force. "There may be a possibility in the future when the cost of maintaining the straits may reach a point where it may not be possible for the littoral states to finance the maintenance of current projects and fund future ones," he said when opening the Symposium on the Enhancement of Safety of Navigation and the Environment Protection of the Straits of Melaka and Singapore here. Najib's speech was delivered by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy. Najib, who is also Defence Minister, said that at the same time, there were greater expectations from the user states for higher standards of navigational safety in the Melaka Straits, was one of the busiest sea lanes in the world with over 65,000 vessels passing through this critical passageway last year alone. "This being the case, there is thus a compelling reason for putting into practice what was envisaged under the UNCLOS, namely calling for cooperation of all parties concerned for the safe navigation in the straits," he added. He said Malaysia hoped that all major user states could demonstrate greater cooperation and assistance towards capacity building of the littoral states in safeguarding the straits in terms of technical assistance, training and exchange of information. User states could also demonstrate their commitment by contributing regularly towards the management of the Straits of Melaka as such funds were essential in undertaking various efforts that could complement efforts of the littoral states. For this purpose, user states could use the Straits of Melaka Revolving Fund, which was set up to tackle problems related to oil spillage, he said. "Rather than setting up a new fund, user states may wish to consider the possibility of contributing towards this fund. Should the user states find it plausible, there may be a need to widen the scope of the Straits of Melaka Revolving Fund to go beyond oil spillage," he added. He said that at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting in Kuala Lumpur last year, it was agreed that user states of the straits would contribute voluntarily towards projects identified by the littoral states, which involved substantial expenditure. Malaysia, however, had some reservations over this voluntary arrangement as it might not achieve the desired results because user states could be more inclined to undertake less expensive projects, leaving out costly ones, he said. "Malaysia is therefore of the view that the user states should revisit the proposal at the next IMO meeting to ensure equitable participation among the user states through identified projects," Najib added. He also called for greater participation of shipowners to share the heavy burden of safeguarding the Melaka Straits. He said Malaysia was fully supportive of the idea of the Nippon Foundation of Japan, which had proposed the setting up of a special fund to which Japanese shipping companies would contribute voluntarily to finance navigational aids and removal of shipwrecks in the Straits of Melaka. "Malaysia fully supports such a proposal as navigational safety in the straits should not be taken for granted by the international community. It should in fact be the collective responsibility of the users as well as the littoral states. "Malaysia welcomes any initiatives through the concept of burden sharing that could enhance the navigational safety of the straits as long as such endeavours do not infringe the principles of sovereignty," Najib said. Meanwhile, at a news conference later, Chan said Malaysia was of the opinion that the littoral states could safeguard the two straits and that there was no need for foreign military intervention by user countries. "There is no real threat of a terrorist attack in the straits... the three littoral states can and have managed it well so far," he said. He said that although this was the present scenario, the littoral states would remain vigilant without any complacency in safeguarding the straits, especially the Straits of Melaka. © 2007 BERNAMA.

Security emphasized for Malacca, Asia's most important sea lane by Thorsten Ludwig
Located between Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, the Malacca Strait is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, and one of the most endangered. About 60,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and more than a third of its economy, pass it every year. This makes it equivalent in its importance to the Suez or Panama Canal. "Located in one of the world's most vibrant economic growth areas, it is a crucial link for international trade and transportation," the Hon Dato' Sri Najib Tun Abdul Razak, deputy prime minister of Malaysia told the audience in an address on the security of the Straits of Malacca, on March 13, 2007. The seminar took place in a hotel in Seoul and attracted numerous journalists and embassy officials, such as Colonel Tim Gall of the New Zealand Defence Force and Colonel Bernd Gieber, defence attaché of the German embassy. The address was jointly hosted by the embassy of Malaysia and the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS). "Germany is largely an export nation and has a prospering ship building industry. That's why we are very much concerned about the security of the seaways," Mr. Gieber explained the reasons for his attending. The strait's economic importance drew the attention of a threat, which seemed long forgotten in marine history: piracy. A threat which grew so eminent, that the Lloyd Market's Association (an insurance company) declared the Malacca Straits an area that is in jeopardy of "war, strikes, terrorism and related perils" in 2005. The LMA revoked this decision later in August 2006. Nevertheless, in 2004, from all the piracy crimes worldwide, 40 percent were committed in this area. After the 9/11 attacks on World Trade Centre, another frightening scenario rose in the heads of analysts. A terror attack in this area could critically wound one of world trade's most important veins, leading to an economic collapse in this region. If terrorists would sink a ship at the most shallow part of the strait, no ship could pass through and the whole traffic would be blocked. Fears rose, when video footage of Malaysian police patrols along the Malacca Straits, appeared on the al-Qaeda network, suggesting there was already a plan in progress. "After 9/11 we were worried about a connection between pirates and al-Qaeda. But we are tracking this very closely and I can assure you that there is no evidence for such a case so far," the deputy prime minister ensured the audience. In order to find a response to the threat, authorities in some Asian countries are operating together. Malaysia, Thailand and Japan recently joined in a first anti-piracy exercise near the Thai island resort of Phuket. United efforts, through coordinated patrols and eye-in-the-sky surveillance have recently shown huge success in decreasing the piracy rate. "In comparison to the year 2003 and 2004 that recorded 28 and 37 cases respectively, the year 2006 only recorded 11 cases with 19 cases in 2005," Mr. Razak explained. But not only pirates and terrorist threaten the ships traveling the lane. Another danger is navigational problems. With increasing volume of traffic (62,000 ships in 2005 compared to 44,000 in 1999), the littoral states face huge problems in ensuring a safety of navigation. "The waterway is still an accident-prone area. This is despite the fact that the navigational aids to facilitate smooth flow of traffic in the straits are already in place," the deputy prime minister continued. Another challenge for the littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand are the environmental threats. "The increase in traffic volume and sometime heavy fog poses the risk of ship collisions and the threat of shore-based pollution," he said. But even so the international community is one of the main users of the Straits of Malacca, it so far lacked in contributing to the costs, necessary for maintaining its security. "Malaysia finds it difficult to accept that while the international users consider the straits as an international sea lane which they have the right to use, however, the efforts of maintaining and securing the waterway have always been regarded the responsibility of the littoral states," he complained. So far only Japan has given assistance and resources regarding navigational and environmental security. Its interest in secure Malacca Straits is obvious. Together with China, most of their oil from the Middle East and its exports to Southeast Asian and Arab markets are ferried on tankers and ships that use the Malacca Straits. "The Straits of Malacca will continue to face a plethora of challenges whether existing or emerging in the years ahead. There is thus a need for the littoral states and the stakeholders to go beyond the confidence building stage to concrete collaboration by realizing modalities for cooperation," he finished his speech. © 2007 The Seoul Times Company.

Singapore to build new command center for maritime security
Singapore - Singapore is building a joint command center that will house three maritime groups under one roof to increase coordination against threats at sea, the Defense Ministry announced Wednesday. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Tuesday for the Changi Command and Control Center, which is expected to be operational in 2009 to coordinate local, regional and international security efforts to deal with threats such as piracy and terrorist attacks on ships. The center, to be located beside the Changi naval base, will house the Singapore Maritime Security Center, the Information Fusion Center and the Multinational Operations and Exercises Center. "The trans-boundary nature of maritime crime and terrorism, coupled with the limited resources of states, demand that security and enforcement agencies, port authorities and shipping associations, come together to cooperate in the maritime security domain,'' Defence Minister Teo Chee Hean was quoted as saying at the ceremony by The Straits Times. In a statement, the ministry said the center will provide a "useful platform for nations to cooperate and respond more flexibly and effectively to a dynamic maritime security environment.'' It said the Multinational Operations and Exercises Center can also function as a regional disaster relief center if the need arises. Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia have in recent years coordinated maritime and air patrols in the Malacca Strait. Pirate attacks in the Malacca Strait, which carries half the world's oil and more than a third of its commerce, have been on the decline since July 2005, with 11 cases last year. © 1995-2005 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd.