Can Countries Resolve Sovereignty Issues In Order To Expand Maritime Security Cooperation?

Producer: Rohan Gunaratne
First broadcast: 27 April 04, Radio Singapore International

Singapore's Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean, has warned that Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia don't have adequate resources to deal with a possible terrorist attack in the busy Malacca Straits.

The three countries straddle the nine-hundred-kilometre sea lane between ports in East Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Rear-Admiral Teo pointed out that besides the littoral states, other users of the waterway have to be involved in ensuring its safety.

However, Malaysia recently rejected a suggestion by the United States to help it with joint patrols.

Maritime experts say that the issue of sovereignty and whether to allow other countries to gain access to its territorial waters is an obstacle to greater cooperation.

The Malacca Straits has already proven to be vulnerable to piracy and a terrorist attack there could result in massive economic repercussions.

For more on this, Bharati Jagdish (BJ) spoke to terrorism expert, Dr Rohan Gunaratne (RG) who's also the author of "Inside Al-Qaeda - Global Network of Terror".

RG: "Certainly, the risk of maritime attacks has increased. Al-Qaeda-linked groups such as Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf are more likely to attack than Al-Qaeda itself because the presence of Al-Qaeda in this region has decreased dramatically as a result of operations mounted by governments in this region against the Al-Qaeda presence. The maritime domain is the least policed environment compared to the land domain. The seas are virtually un-policed compared to the land domain. As a result, a terrorist group can plan, prepare and execute an attack without too much consideration about the security measures and countermeasures at sea."

BJ: Rear-Adm Teo has said that none of the three countries bordering the Straits of Malacca - Indonesia, Malaysia or Singapore - have adequate resources to deal with a possible terror attack along the waterway. The fact is that even controlling piracy along the Straits has been rather difficult for these three countries, hasn't it?

RG: "That's right. I think governments must take this issue seriously. Government leaders must address this issue. Otherwise, it is likely that we will witness a terrorist attack in the coming months or years."

BJ: So, would you say that help from other countries is crucial here?

RG: "Yes, because although these three countries have the primary responsibility, what we're seeing is that the sea lane is being used by a number of other countries, for example, Japan uses it to transport oil from the Middle East and the United States uses it to transport various goods from this region to the US. So, it is certainly not the responsibility of only these three countries."

BJ: Often the obstacle to maritime security cooperation has been the question of sovereignty. Malaysia has already rejected the US's offer of help to patrol the Straits. How can these countries move past issues like sovereignty in order to ensure better security?

RG: "I think governments, sooner or later, have to come to the realisation that they have to work with other governments when it comes to security, even governments with which they have ideological disagreements. It is vital that governments realise the importance of cooperation before a terrorist attack occurs, not after."

BJ: But in this case, how can we address the concerns over sovereignty and at the same time, ensure optimal cooperation with countries like the US?

RG: "I think that is the very reason governments must develop arrangements to exchange personnel, to have common databases, to conduct joint and combined training and to conduct joint and combined operations and most of all, to share one another's experience and expertise. In order to fight this modern wave of terrorism, where terrorists are operating across territorial borders and territorial jurisdictions, it is very important to move beyond the traditional mindset and to work in collaboration and cooperation with other governments. Terrorists groups are cooperating across the ideological divide to fight a common enemy. I don't see why governments should be so reluctant to do so."

BJ: What scale of cooperation would be adequate or appropriate in this case?

RG: "I believe that the scale of cooperation should be at multiple levels. It should be at the topmost levels, but also at the tactical or operational level. A multi-national, multi-agency and multi-pronged response is required. One single country, one single agency or one single method will not be sufficient to control terrorism."