Threats In The Straits Of Malacca: A Reality Or Myth ?

The Straits of Malacca is one of the strategic passageways and chokepoints which more than half of Asia’s oil imported from Middle East transits through before reaching its final destinations. For this reason, the concern to the major powers particularly to the United States is the maritime terrorism coupled with the piracy attacks or armed robbery against vessels. This paper examines the relationship between piracy and contemporary/maritime terrorism and to what extent is the possibility of both threats working in concert to launch sea-borne attack in the strategic Straits.
Initially the paper discusses on the fundamental objectives of piracy and maritime terrorism, thereby impressed upon of no connectivity between the piracy and maritime terrorism in terms of political agendas and modus operandi. On the notion of seaborne terrorism to block the strategic maritime lane of the Straits of Malacca as envisaged by some analysts, five factors will be examined. First, the attack does not meet the political agenda of the terrorists and less international impact; second, the Malaysian Government has established an integrated intelligence gathering system and
had the experience in defeating terrorism since 1960s; third, the element of cognitive dissonance in making decision by the political actors that is perception and
misperception of the West; fourth, the advancement of information revolution which is both a force of stability and instability, and finally, with well in placed security
mechanism and arrangement engaged by the littoral states as evidence of credible efforts to combat piracy and maritime terrorism, hence the notion of sea-borne terrorism in the Straits of Malacca is a myth.