Singapore and Malaysia step up security in Malacca Straits

Producer: Melanie Yip
First broadcast: 7 June 04, Radio Singapore International

Singapore and Malaysia will step up on maritime security cooperation in the Straits of Malacca.

This was revealed at the Five Power Defense Arrangements, or FPDA meeting where defence ministers from Singapore, Malaysia, Britain , Australia and New Zealand met today in Singapore.

Singapore’s Defence Minister, Teo Chee Hean (TCH) summed up the areas of security arrangements agreed between Singapore and Malaysia.

TCH: And we’ve discussed the three specific areas. One is to coordinate our patrols. Second, to have more information exchange. And third, to have our operations centers communicate more closely. This is something we’ve discussed and we’ll encourage our operating agencies, navy and coast guards to work on.

His Malaysian Defence counterpart, Najib Razak (NR) welcomes the deeper military ties.

NR: As far as Malaysia and Singapore are concerned, we are working very closely together, on a bilateral basis, as well as under the FPDA, we hope to broaden and deepen that cooperation.

At the 3rd annual Asia Security Conference over the weekend, Malaysia rejected proposals to station US troops along the shipping routes in the Malacca Straits. Malaysia Defense Minister Najib Tun Razak said that the presence of foreign forces in South East Asia should be avoided because a foreign military presence will set (South East Asian nations) back in their ideological battle against extremism and militancy.

To what extent will foreign military presence affect South East Asis’s ability to deal with extremism? I put the question to Dr. Andrew Tan (AT), Assistant Professor at the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies in Singapore.

AT: He has in mind, the anti-American sentiments that are very evident within the region, particularly within the Malay Archipelago. So clearly, the presence of American forces would be a contentious political issue. His point was that, Malaysia would do all it can to deal with piracy, and maritime security issues. But it would have to be done in a way that would not worsen the situation and that would contribute to the winning of the hearts and minds. I think this is the message that is being given to the Americans, it does represent a more nuance approach.

However, Mr Najib has reiterated that Malaysia was still open for discussions on the US Regional Maritime Security Initiatives. In what ways can the United States offer its assistance in security efforts of the Malacca Straits under this initiative?

AT: It is in the area of capacity building through discussions with the territorial states like Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. What the Americans can do is to provide the necessary intelligence, training, funding that would improve the capacity of these states in dealing with terrorism and maritime security threats along the Straits of Malacca. In other words, to empower the states within the region to better tackle these problems.

Looking beyond maritime security, at the FPDA meeting, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill expressed his desire to see an extension of the FPDA’s scope of activities to include counter terrorism training and inviting more nations to join the group.

I asked Dr Andrew Tan about the process in which counter terrorism training can be carried out.

AT: It’s inevitable that the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA) would tackle counter terrorism issues, given that our multi-lateral training exercises in the region have taken the counter terrorism focus. For example, Cobra Gold, a military exercise between Thailand, Singapore and the United States has taken on a counter terrorism focus, and has looked at issues like peacekeeping. As to how the mechanisms would work, that would be subjected to further discussions, given that the Five Power Defense Arrangement is not institutionalized to the level of NATO, and certainly, because of its more ad-hoc nature, there needs to be more discussions as to how the mechanisms would work.

On the question of expansion of membership, Malaysian Defense Minister, Najib Razak has voiced his objections to the expansion of membership, saying that this would mean a major departure from the concept of FDPA. Your views on this?

AT: I guess the Malaysian Defence Minister is right to point out that any expansion would certainly mean a change in the original function of the FPDA, that is why I think, although the suggestion by Australia is interesting, we would have to see whether the two states of Malaysia and Singapore are prepared to go beyond the original reach of the FPDA.