Low Probability With Huge Impact: Sea-Borne Attacks In The Straits Of Malacca

From Malaysian perspective, terrorism is not a new phenomena since we have the experience in the Guerrilla Warfare, and the only country which has defeated the terrorist /guerrilla movements. Presently, terrorism has moved into different dimensions but the objective is the same: to create fear and gain international attention. The concern to the major powers today, particularly the United States is on maritime terrorism coupled with the piracy attacks or armed robbery against vessels in the Straits of Malacca. Indeed, most of the strategic passageways are the world’s international maritime trades routes as noted by Donna Nincic, that “security of maritime trades hinges on the conception of sea
lanes and chokepoints as scarce resources.”2 This paper attempts to justify for the low probability of sea-borne attack in the Straits of Malacca because of cohesive cooperation and effective surveillance by the littoral states of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Therefore, it is essential to review terrorism/maritime terrorism in general, and what are the maritime infrastructures/targets of interest to the terrorists in the Straits of Malacca.
Also, to what extent the gathering and sharing of intelligence with the extra-regional powers has contributed towards stability in the straits.