Costs-sharing to protect Malacca urged
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
MALAYSIA yesterday urged the international community to share the costs of protecting a vital sea lane against piracy and called for a blueprint for cooperation.
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said here that international users had failed to match their increasing use of the the Malacca Strait with contributions to the costs needed to ensure its navigational safety.
"Malaysia finds it difficult to accept that while the international users consider the strait 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 (as) the responsibility of the littoral states (the countries bordering the sea lane Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia)," he said.
"The high expectations from the international users and the increase in volume of traffic have indeed imposed considerable demand and financial burden on the littoral states," he added.
More than 30 per cent of world trade and half of the world's oil shipments, an estimated 11 million barrels per day, pass through the strait. Seventy per cent of Japanese and 80 per cent of Chinese oil imports from the Middle East pass through the sea lane.
The volume of traffic has increased dramatically, with more than 62,600 ships using the strait in 2005, up 42 per cent from 44,000 ships in 1999. The volume is expected to increase to an estimated 100,000 ships within the next decade due to increase in global trade and rise of East Asian economies.
Najib said the littoral states felt "aggrieved by the huge expenses" they had to bear. "Further, the international users' lukewarm response in terms of resources needed to upkeep the safety of navigation is indeed worrying," he said.
AFP
Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said here that international users had failed to match their increasing use of the the Malacca Strait with contributions to the costs needed to ensure its navigational safety.
"Malaysia finds it difficult to accept that while the international users consider the strait 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 (as) the responsibility of the littoral states (the countries bordering the sea lane Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia)," he said.
"The high expectations from the international users and the increase in volume of traffic have indeed imposed considerable demand and financial burden on the littoral states," he added.
More than 30 per cent of world trade and half of the world's oil shipments, an estimated 11 million barrels per day, pass through the strait. Seventy per cent of Japanese and 80 per cent of Chinese oil imports from the Middle East pass through the sea lane.
The volume of traffic has increased dramatically, with more than 62,600 ships using the strait in 2005, up 42 per cent from 44,000 ships in 1999. The volume is expected to increase to an estimated 100,000 ships within the next decade due to increase in global trade and rise of East Asian economies.
Najib said the littoral states felt "aggrieved by the huge expenses" they had to bear. "Further, the international users' lukewarm response in terms of resources needed to upkeep the safety of navigation is indeed worrying," he said.
AFP
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