MALAYSIA URGES REMOVAL OF MALACCA STRAIT FROM WAR ZONE LIST

The Malaysian government has once again pleaded that international insurers stop classing the Malacca Strait as a “war zone”, thus increasing the insurance costs of any ships using it as passage. Deputy prime minister Najib Razak, who is also minister for defence, said that statistics did not support the interpretation and claimed that “this area is safe from any global terrorism”. Speaking as Malaysia formally launched its coast guard yesterday, he said that the number of piracy cases in the strait fell from 18 in June-December 2004 to just one in June-December 2005. The 38 attacks in the 500-mile strait in all of 2004 fell to 12 in 2005. He added that there had been no cases of piracy in the strait this year. Last November Malaysia set up a coast guard at an initial cost of 69m ringgit to make the strait safer for shipping. “The formation of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency demonstrates our seriousness to address the maritime security issues”, Mr Najib said.