Australian Maritime Issues 2007 - Royal Australian Navy

A Malaysian Perspective on International Maritime Counter-Terrorist Cooperation
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However, levels of cooperation from each nation vary due to differing perceptions on
the global war on terrorism, and the state of relations between the littoral states and
the three extra regional powers. Malaysian perceptions on the US-led global war on
terrorism and the need to protect its sovereignty have limited Malaysia’s cooperation
with these extra-regional powers to capacity building and intelligence exchange.
Perceptions on the Global War on Terrorism
Malaysia’s previous approach to fighting terrorist threats through a combination of ‘soft
power’ and ‘hard power’ has been proven to be very successful. In recent years, two
known terrorist groups have emerged in Malaysia, namely the Kumpulan Mujahidin
Malaysia, a local group fighting to replace the democratically elected government
and convert Malaysia into an Islamic state, and supporters of Jemaah Islamiyah. Both
groups were successfully eliminated by the government within a very short period. In
both cases, the government did not solely resort to military force. Instead, it adopted a
combination of direct action by civilian police to arrest and detain them, and a strategy
of winning the support of the people to oppose terrorism. 23
Cooperation Amongst the Littoral States
The cooperation of the littoral states to enhance security in the strait began in the
early 1970s when the three countries established separate bilateral border committees
to manage security issues in their common land and sea border areas. They began
cooperating with the IMO after the issue of sea robbery was highlighted in 1992, when
a working group to the Maritime Security Committee composed of experts from 10
IMO member countries including representatives from the littoral states of the strait
was formed.
Several regional and international initiatives were then implemented to boost security,
including: agreements on information exchange and establishment of communication
procedures; treaties of mutual assistance in criminal matters; and regional forum
frameworks on measures against terrorism, counter-terrorism and transnational
crimes. However, the manner and speed in which the initiatives were implemented
after September 2001 underline the seriousness and commitment of Malaysia and other
littoral states in forging regional maritime security cooperation and enforcement. An
example of these initiative is the multilateral Counterterrorism Agreement between
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand for intelligence sharing
and collaboration among law enforcement agencies.
The interest shown by foreign powers to patrol the strait and their increasing concerns
about a potentially bigger threat have prompted both Malaysia and Indonesia to launch
a program to improve security through coordinated maritime patrols, whereby ships
from theses navies are to patrol the area. Singapore later joined the initiative. 24 As