JAPAN MULLS MORE LOGISTICS AID FOR MARITIME AGENCY

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- Japan, among the world's top trading nations, with the bulk of its cargo plying the busy Straits of Melaka, is committed to protect the waterway by providing adequate assistance to the relevant agencies in Malaysia, its Ambassador to Malaysia Masahiko Horie said.

He said Japan having suppled equipment to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement
Agency to fight piracy in the Straits of Melaka will provide more aid in future.

Japan has been supporting anti-piracy, anti-terrorism and safety of the
region, especialy Straits of Melaka.

"We have been supporting different sectors but last year we agreed to
support the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). We provided
the radars, cameras, laser cameras, radio direction finders system which are
very important for anti-piracy enforcement," he told Bernama.

"This is the first but we are thinking of other support for the Malaysian
Royal Police like night vision googles or binocular range finder or digital
portable radio or inflatable boats," he said.

Horie said the third programme is to support the Royal Malaysian Customs.

"We are supporting them by poviding 10 speedboats and hand-held thermal
images. These are some of the examples and one already agreed upon last year
and another two are in the pipeline," he said.

He said Japan has been assisting the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
by sending Japan coast guard patrol vessels and airplanes to the Southeast Asian
territorial waters.

"We also have combined drills involving maritime safety institutions,
Japan coast guards, Malaysian companies, Japanese non-governmental organisations
and Nippon Foundation.

He said Nippon Foundation has been supporting Malaysia and they provided
training vessels to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency three years ago.

Horie said they also provide financial aid to the littoral states
-- Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia -- to safeguard the Straits of Melaka --
the world's busiest waterway.

"These are some of the support from us to back up the littoral states in
their fight against pirates, terrorists and smuggling," he said.

Asked on the current situation in the international waterway, Horie
said the number of piracy attacks have reduced markedly with the support and
joint anti-piracy operations.

"There has been enormous progress. A few years ago, the insurance company in
the United Kingdom, Lloyd, has been naming the Straits of Melaka as a dangerous
straits but with the sharp drop in piracy cases, they have lifted the " Melaka
Straits, Dangerous Straits" label.

"If the straits is pirate-infested, shipowners and transporters have to pay
a higher insurance premium but since the label has been lifted, they pay less
now and this is a good result," he added.
-- BERNAMA