As part of an ongoing series of reports focused on battling piracy around the world, National Public Radio (NPR) highlighted successes in the Strait of Malacca during its May 7 “Morning Edition” broadcast.
The report highlights the coordinated efforts of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, noting that information sharing and coordinated patrols of the strait -- where more than one-quarter of the world’s traded goods and approximately one-third of world’s oil pass yearly – are now common. Reported cases of piracy have dropped drastically over the past five years as a result of this cooperation, from 38 in 2004 down to two in 2008.
Columnist Richard Halloran reported in a May 3 article that according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), only one piracy incident was reported in the Strait of Malacca during the first quarter of 2009.
As both the NPR broadcast and Halloran article mention, the U.S. has provided funding for equipment and technology initiatives in support of the effort to keep the Strait of Malacca safe for international shipping.
As part of its strategy of partnership, readiness and presence, U.S. Pacific Command further supports this regional effort through frequent maritime exercises and professional exchanges that contribute to capacity building and collaboration.
What would be cool on posts like this would be to have a Google Maps insert that shows the area of interest and maybe some pushpins showing attack locations. There are lots of potential readers who aren't so good at geographicalology.
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Good idea, K T CAT. Will keep in mind for future posts. Thanks.
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