Karinthy Model United Nations
Security Council
Combating Piracy in the Strait of Malacca
Submitted by:
Olivér Balogh
Date of submission
23.01.2017.
The Strait of Malacca is a narrow 850 km long stretch of water connecting the Indian
and Pacific Oceans. It is bounded by Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to the northeast and
by the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest. Important cities on or near the coastline
are Batam, Singapore, Dumai, Kuala Lumpur, Medan, Taiping and Langkawi. The Strait of
Malacca is an important passageway for commercial trade between China and India. It is a
necessary link between Europe and East Asia, something that could be called the „Eastern
Suez Canal”.
Piracy has been flourishing in the Strait of Malacca since the 14th century. Its peak
was during the 16th-17th century, when piracy in the area was comparable to that of the
Caribbean Sea and the Horn of Africa. However, by the 1870s, the European powers have
largely eradicated piracy in the strait.
Piracy was on the rise again after heavy oil exportation began through the Indonesian
archipelago and is now a cause for concern.
The Current Issue
Annually, about 50,000 ships transit the strait, which means that forty percent of the
world’s trade passes through it. It has also become the most important passageway for oil
transport from the Middle East to East Asia. Thus most Southeast-Asian countries, as well as
China, Japan, Korea and islands in the Pacific are affected by the issue.
According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) the Strait of Malacca
accounted for 40% of piracy worldwide in 2004. In 2007 IMB reported that the strait
continues to be the most pirate struck region in the world after 37 attacks were reported only
between January and October 2007. Most of the piracy in the region targets Indonesian ships
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and most of the pirates are of Indonesian origin as well. This is closely linked to the fact that
of the countries in the area, the Indonesian navy is the least equipped to combat piracy.
“Instances of modern piracy typically fall into one of three categories: those looking
for easy profit, those working with or belonging to organised crime syndicates, and those
associated with terrorist or secessionist groups with political motivations.
Pirates looking only for easy profit are usually criminals of opportunity. They search
for easy targets, robbing ships and their crews of money and valuables. Those belonging to
organised criminal syndicates attack with more sophistication and planning. Their
operations, which require skill, coordination, and funding, aim to steal large cargoes or to
kidnap ships' crews for ransom. The kind of piracy related to terrorism operates similarly, but
differs in that it seeks funding to continue terrorist activities or to make political statements.”
Due to international cooperation, the number of attacks has fallen in the late 2000s,
however, is once again on the rise since late 2014 since a new piracy strategy specifically
targeting oil and diesel tankers emerged.
International Cooperation and Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue
Due to an IMB regulation, ships of at least 500 gross tons or more must have security
alert systems on board since 2004. These also include near-real-time ship location devices.
The Federation of ASEAN Shipowners’ Association has launched a database system called
the Information Sharing Centre to provide information on the locations and types of attacks
along with their outcomes, which helps combat such attacks more quickly and sufficiently.
In 2004 Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore increased efforts to patrol the strait in
order to curb piracy. Malaysia and Singapore have been mostly successful in doing so,
however, Indonesia, due to her lack of proper equipment was unsuccessful: 90% of pirate
attacks in the area occur on Indonesian waters. This issue is further complicated by the fact
that while Singapore wants international support, Indonesia and Malaysia oppose foreign
intervention. This is, however, impossible since several countries are involved in the issue as
their oil tankers are targeted by piracy in the area. Since 2006 India and Thailand also send
patrols to the area to support their trade interest.
Although these measures have proven to be successful for almost 10 years and the
number of pirate attacks in the area was close to zero by 2011 according to the Chief of
Malaysian Defence Forces, piracy has been on the rise again since 2014.
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Please watch these videos for further explanation of the current situation:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V68GgtFZBQs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoAJj3DJsl8
Sources
1. http://time.com/piracy-southeast-asia-malacca-strait/
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piracy_in_the_Strait_of_Malacca
3. http://www.dw.com/en/worrying-rise-in-piracy-attacks-around-malacca-strait/a17780275
4. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1030/p01s04-woap.html
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3IF2hSUkRo
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