Cooperative Security: Combating Piracy In the Straits of Malacca

Most of the strategic passageways lie on the world’s international maritime trade routes as noted by Nincic1 that “the security of maritime trade hinges on the conception of sea lanes and chokepoints as scarce resources.” The Straits of Malacca is one of the strategic passageways and chokepoints through which more than half of Asia’s oil imported from Middle East is transported to its final destinations in China, Japan and South Korea. As a result, the concern to the maritime powers particularly to the United States, is the piracy attacks or armed robbery and acts of terrorism against vessels in the Straits of Malacca. For this reason, the debate on the nexus between maritime terrorism and piracy continues to become a popular belief among academics. This challenge would require the littoral states in the Straits of Malacca, to adopt a comprehensive maritime security mechanism to attain peace and stability.