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Maritime Security in East and Southeast Asia pp 43–84Cite as

Securitising Piracy and Maritime Terrorism along the Malacca and Singapore Straits: Singapore and the Importance of Facilitating Factors

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Abstract

Many commentators have noted how difficult it has been to encourage deeper forms of cooperation between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore inter se, as well as with other nations, particularly when their respective state sovereignty appears to be threatened. This study will therefore attempt to examine Singapore’s efforts to create a political climate that was more conducive for substantive joint endeavours through its policy of securitising piracy and maritime terrorism along the Malacca and Singapore Straits. Given the security dimensions involved in this discourse, the approach taken by the Copenhagen School of Security Studies is selected as an analytical tool in which to better interrogate these processes, and in particular, the role that facilitating factors play in expediting or obstructing the securitising of existential threats.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Nong Hong, “Charting a Maritime Security Cooperation Mechanism in the Indian Ocean: Sharing Responsibilities among Littoral States and User States,” Strategic Analysis, 36:3 (2012), pp. 405–6.

  2. 2.

    Andrew T. H. Tan, “The Emergence of Naval Power in the Straits of Malacca,” Defence Studies (DS) 12:1(2012), p. 106.

  3. 3.

    The Port Klang’s (Malaysia), Vessel Traffic Service(s) estimated that around 74,136 ships (which include bulk, Liquefied Natural Gas/Liquefied Petroleum Gas, passenger, tanker and container vessels) passed through the Straits of Malacca in 2010, up from 71,359 in the previous year. This is based upon statistics gleaned from their visual observation of ships passing through the Malacca Straits between January 2010 and December 2010 from their One Fathom Bank Lighthouse: see the Maritime Department of Malaysia’s website containing the Mandatory Ship Reporting System in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, “Statistic of Ships Movement Reported to VTS Klang since 2001 until 2010.” Retrieved from http://www.marine.gov.my/service/statistik/BKP/Stat%202010/Stat%20Pergerakan%20kapal%202001-2010.pdf. (Accessed on September 1, 2012).

  4. 4.

    J. N. Mak, “Unilateralism and Regionalism: Working Together and Alone in the Malacca Straits,” in Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ed., Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2006), pp. 144–5.

  5. 5.

    In 2010, the merchandise exports for Indonesia amounted to USD 158.2 billion , Malaysia USD 198.8 billion, and Singapore USD 351.9 billion: see Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Statistical Yearbook for Asia and the Pacific 2011 (Bangkok: United Nations Publication, 2011), p. 226.

  6. 6.

    Michael Richardson, A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-related Terrorism in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2004), p. 3.

  7. 7.

    My Sin Chew (Malaysia), March 20, 2012. Retrieved from http://www.mysinchew.com/node/71555. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  8. 8.

    Chee Hean Teo, RSS Formidable, Speech Presented at the Launching Ceremony of the Frigate RSS Formidable, in Singapore, January 7, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/press_room/official_releases/nr/2004/jan/07jan04_nr/07jan04_speech.html#.UXSKELVmh8E. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  9. 9.

    Port Klang is located in the Malaysian state of Selangor. For further information, refer to the Port Klang Authority website at http://www.pka.gov.my/Intro.htm.

  10. 10.

    Located in the state of Johor at the southern end of Peninsula Malaysia.

  11. 11.

    Bernama (B). October 22, 2012. Retrieved from http://maritime.bernama.com/news.php?id=703771&lang=en. (Accessed on April 22, 2013); B Times (BT). July 12, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/westopo/Article/#ixzz2AtJAA8I5. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  12. 12.

    Mak, op. cit., p. 139.

  13. 13.

    For more information, please refer to the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute’s website at http://www.copri.dk.

  14. 14.

    Ralf Emmers, Non-traditional Security in the Asia-Pacific: The Dynamics of Securitisation (Singapore: Eastern Universities Press, 2004).

  15. 15.

    See also Francois Vreÿ, “Securitising Piracy,” African Security Review (ASR) 20:3 (2011), pp. 54–66; J. N. Mak, “Securitizing Piracy in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, the International Maritime Bureau and Singapore,” in M. Caballero-Anthony, R. Emmers and A. Acharya, eds, Non-Traditional Security in Asia: Dilemmas in Securitization (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2006), pp. 66–92; Bilyana Tsvetkova, “Securitizing Piracy off the Coast of Somalia,” Central European Journal of International and Security Studies (CEJISS) 3:1 (2009), pp. 44–63.

  16. 16.

    Joshua Ho, “The Security of Regional Sea Lanes,” Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies Working Paper Series (Nanyang Technological University) No. 81, (2005), p. 2.

  17. 17.

    Ibid.

  18. 18.

    This treaty came into force on March 10, 1971: The Geographer, Indonesia-Malaysia Territorial Sea Boundary, International Boundary, Study Series A, Limits in the Seas No. 50, Washington: United States Department of State (1973), p. 2.

  19. 19.

    Ibid., p. 4.

  20. 20.

    Agreement Stipulating the Territorial Sea Boundary Lines between Indonesia and the Republic of Singapore in the Straits of Singapore: see Act No. 7/1973; Lembaga Negara No. 59/1973, signed in Jakarta, Indonesia, on May 25, 1973, in force on August 29, 1974.

  21. 21.

    Treaty between the Republic of Indonesia and the Republic of Singapore Relating to the Delimitation of the Territorial Seas of the Two Countries in the Western Part of the Straits of Singapore, signed in Jakarta, Indonesia, on March 10, 2009, in force on August 31, 2010.

  22. 22.

    Tara Davenport, “Legal Measures to Combat Piracy and Armed Robbery in the Horn of Africa and in Southeast Asia: A Comparison,” SCT, 35:7–8 (2012), p. 578.

  23. 23.

    Time Magazine (TM), April 22, 2009. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1893032,00.html#ixzz2Ar9eGh00. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  24. 24.

    An agency of the United Nations, the IMO is tasked with promoting “safe, secure, environmentally sound, efficient and sustainable shipping through cooperation…”, see IMO Assembly Resolution A944 (23) (November 25, 2003). Retrieved from http://www.imo.org/About/Pages/Default.aspx. (Accessed on April 23, 2013).

  25. 25.

    International Maritime Organization, “Piracy and Armed Robbery at Sea,” Focus on IMO, (2000), p. 3.

  26. 26.

    Article 101 of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), signed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, December 10, 1982, in force on November 16, 1994, 1833 UNTS 3.

  27. 27.

    Article 6 of the 1958 Geneva Convention on the High Seas (HSC), signed in Geneva, on April 29, 1958, in force on September 30, 1962, 450 UNTS 82; Article 92 of UNCLOS. Secondary criminal jurisdiction is likewise shared with the state whose nationals were responsible for the alleged acts of maritime violence, detention or depredation on the high seas.

  28. 28.

    R. R. Churchill and A. V. Lowe, The Law of the Sea, 3rd ed. (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999), p. 209.

  29. 29.

    Ibid.

  30. 30.

    Article 105 of UNCLOS.

  31. 31.

    The Lotus Case (1927) PCIJ Series A, No. 10, p. 70 (Judge Moore).

  32. 32.

    Article 1.2 of the 2004 Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia has since created a new offence of “armed robbery against ships” under international law: see also Keyuan Zou, “New Developments in the International Law of Piracy,” Chinese Journal of International Law 8:2 (2009), p. 327. Note however that such an offence is only binding on the contracting state parties to this treaty. Among the Littoral States, only Singapore is a signatory to this convention.

  33. 33.

    International Maritime Organization Code of Practice for the Investigation of the Crimes of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, Resolution A.922 (22), MSC Circular 984 (December 20, 2000) at para. 2.2.

  34. 34.

    Note however the exception of piracy jure gentium highlighted earlier.

  35. 35.

    Robert Beckman, “Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Southeast Asia: The Way Forward,” Ocean Development and International Law (ODIL), 33(2002), p. 320.

  36. 36.

    For a more developed argument concerning this issue, please refer to Zou, “New Developments in the International Law of Piracy,” pp. 323–45.

  37. 37.

    Adam J. Young, Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia: History, Causes and Remedies (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2007), p. 10.

  38. 38.

    International Maritime Bureau-Regional Piracy Centre (IMB-RPC), Piracy Report 1992 (Kuala Lumpur: IMB-RPC, 1993), p. 2 (emphasis contained in the original text).

  39. 39.

    ICC International Maritime Bureau (ICC-IMB), Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships Annual Report: 1 January –31 December 2009 (London: ICC-IMB, 2010), p. 3 [emphasis contained in the original text].

  40. 40.

    Zou, “New Developments in the International Law of Piracy,” p. 328.

  41. 41.

    There is no specific crime of “maritime terrorism” under international law: see Natalie Klein, Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 147–8. That said, the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific Working Group noted that such offences normally include “…acts and activities within the maritime environment, using or against vessels or fixed platforms at sea or in port, or against any one of their passengers or personnel, against coastal facilities or settlements, including tourist resorts, port areas and port towns or cities”: see Antonio Guido Monno, “Piracy and Terrorism, Threats to Maritime Security: A Brief Analysis,” in Silvia Ciotti Galletti, ed., Piracy and Maritime Terrorism: Logistics, Strategies, Scenarios (Amsterdam: IOS Press BV, 2012), p. 70.

  42. 42.

    Zou, op. cit., p. 327; Young, Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia, pp. 122–3.

  43. 43.

    Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, “Southeast Asian Piracy: Research and Developments,” in Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ed., Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2006), pp. xii–xiii. There are also other differences between the IMO’s definition of piracy and that used by the IMB. For more details, please refer to Table 1, ibid., p. xiii.

  44. 44.

    ICC-IMB, Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships Annual Report: 1 January–31 December 2009 (London: ICC-IMB, 2010), p. 3. The IMB would finally adopt the IMO’s legal definition in its 2010 piracy report: see ICC-IMB, Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships Annual Report: 1 January–31 December 2010 (2011), p. 3.

  45. 45.

    Young, op. cit., p. 10.

  46. 46.

    Another major actor that produces similar statistics has since emerged from the creation of the Information Sharing Centre (ISC), the administrative headquarters for the 2004 Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia. The ISC also uses a slightly different definition of piracy to that of the IMO and the IMB: see Zou, “New Developments in the International Law of Piracy,” p. 328.

  47. 47.

    Young, Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia, p. 123.

  48. 48.

    United States Department of State, Proliferation Security Initiative. Retrieved from http://www.state.gov/t/isn/c10390.htm. (Accessed on May 12, 2013).

  49. 49.

    Admiral Thomas Fargo, Statement before the House Armed Services Committee, in the United States, March 31, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/olc/docs/test04-03-31Fargo.doc. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  50. 50.

    Jakarta Post (JP), June10, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2006/06/10/psi-not-discussed.html?1. (Accessed on May 1, 2013); Rachel Baird, “Transnational Security Issues in the Asian Maritime Environment: Responding to Maritime Piracy,” Australian Journal of International Affairs (AJIA) 66:5 (2012), p. 507.

  51. 51.

    Indonesia and Malaysia still remain outside the fold despite their declaration pursuant to the ASEAN Regional Forum Piracy Statement in 2003 that they would ratify the convention as soon as possible: see Para. 2 of the ASEAN Regional Forum Statement on Cooperation against Piracy and other Threats to Security, June 17, 2003. Retrieved from http://aseanregionalforum.asean.org/library/arf-chairmans-statements-and-reports/172.html. (Accessed on April 24, 2013).

  52. 52.

    Signed in Rome, Italy, March 10, 1988, in force March 1, 1992, 1678 UNTS 221. The 1988 Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Fixed Platforms Located on the Continental Shelf, signed in Rome, Italy, March 10, 1988, in force March 1, 1992, 1678 UNTS 304, extends the requirements of this treaty to fixed platforms such as those engaged in the exploitation of offshore oil and gas. This treaty is also known as the Rome Convention.

  53. 53.

    ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP-ISC), The Seventh Governing Council Meeting of the ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ISC) (Singapore: ReCAAP-ISC, 2013). Retrieved from http://www.recaap.org/Portals/0/docs/2013-03-07%20Press%20Release.pdf. (Accessed on April 22, 2013). This treaty came into force on September 4, 2006.

  54. 54.

    Joshua Ho, “The Importance and Security of Regional Sea Lanes,” in Kwa Chong Guan and John K. Skogan, eds, Maritime Security in Southeast Asia (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 25.

  55. 55.

    Ho, Security, p. 2.

    Chris Rahman, “Naval Cooperation and Coalition Building in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific: Status and Prospects,” Royal Australian Navy: Sea Power Centre and Centre of Maritime Policy (University of Wollongong) Working Paper, No. 7 (2001), p. 38.

  56. 56.

    Emmers, Non-traditional, p. 47.

  57. 57.

    Beckman, “Combatting Piracy and Armed Robbery,” p. 330.

  58. 58.

    Peter Chalk, Grey-Area Phenomena in Southeast Asia: Piracy, Drug Trafficking and Political Terrorism (Canberra: Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, Australian National University, 1997, p. 88.

  59. 59.

    Ibid.

  60. 60.

    Hasjim Djalal, “Combating Piracy: Co-operation Needs, Efforts and Challenges,” in Derek Johnson and Mark Valencia, eds, Piracy in Southeast Asia: Status, Issues and Responses (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2005), p. 149.

  61. 61.

    Chalk, op. cit., p. 24; Emmers, Non-traditional, p. 47.

  62. 62.

    Sumihiko Kawamura, “Regional Cooperation Against Piracy and Armed Robbery At Sea,” in Douglas Johnston and Ankara Sirivivatnanon, eds, Ocean Governance and Sustainable Development in the Pacific Region: Selected Papers, Commentaries and Comments Presented to the SEAPOL Inter-Regional Conference Held in Bangkok on March 21–23, 2001 (Bangkok: SEAPOL, 2002), pp. 344–5.

  63. 63.

    Rahman, “Naval Cooperation and Coalition Building,” pp. 38–9; Chalk, Grey-Area Phenomena, pp. 88–9; Emmers, Non-traditional, pp. 46–8.

  64. 64.

    Djalal, “Combating Piracy”, pp. 149–50.

  65. 65.

    Jayant Abhyankar, “Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships – An Overview,” in Douglas Johnston and Ankara Sirivivatnanon, eds, Ocean Governance and Sustainable Development in the Pacific Region: Selected Papers, Commentaries and Comments Presented to the SEAPOL Inter-Regional Conference Held in Bangkok on March 21–23, 2001 (Bangkok: SEAPOL, 2002), p. 326; ICC-IMB, 2006, p. 5.

  66. 66.

    ICC-IMB, 2005, p. 5; ICC-IMB, 2006, p. 5.

  67. 67.

    Peter Chalk and Stig Jarle Hansen, “Present Day Piracy: Scope, Dimensions, Dangers, and Causes,” SCT 35:7–8 (2012), p. 499.

  68. 68.

    Ibid.

  69. 69.

    Ibid., p. 500.

  70. 70.

    Mak, “Unilateralism and Regionalism,” pp. 155–6. MALSINDO was renamed the “Malacca Straits Sea Patrol” sometime in April 2006.

  71. 71.

    Ibid.

  72. 72.

    Ibid.

  73. 73.

    Ho, Importance, p. 30.

  74. 74.

    Usually the doctrine of “hot pursuit” only allows the coastal state’s authorised vessel to pursue the offending ship from its own internal waters, archipelagic waters, territorial sea or contiguous zone onto the high seas or its Exclusive Economic Zone: see Article 111 of the 1982 UNCLOS.

  75. 75.

    Ralf Emmers, “The Five Power Defence Arrangements and Defence Diplomacy in Southeast Asia,” Asian Security (AS) 8:3 (2012), p. 277.

  76. 76.

    Ho, Importance, p. 30.

  77. 77.

    Ibid.

  78. 78.

    Ibid.

  79. 79.

    Emmers, Five Power Defence, p. 277. These three elements were subsequently combined to form the Malacca Straits Patrols (MSP).

  80. 80.

    Ethan C. Stiles, “Reforming Current International Law to Combat Modern Sea Piracy,” Suffolk Transnational Law Review (STLR), 27 (2004), pp. 320–1.

  81. 81.

    These initiatives deal with preventing the illegal proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction as well as maritime terrorism respectively.

  82. 82.

    Ian Storey, “Maritime Security in Southeast Asia: Two Cheers for Regional Cooperation,” in Daljit Singh, ed., Southeast Asian Affairs 2009 (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2009), p. 44.

  83. 83.

    Shishir Upadhyaya, “Malacca Straits Security Initiative: Potential for Indian navy’s participation in the evolving regional security environment,” Maritime Affairs: Journal of the National Maritime Foundation of India (MA) 5:2 (2010), pp. 47–67.

  84. 84.

    Signed in London, November 1, 1974, in force 25 May 25, 1980, 1184 UNTS 2; Presidential Decree No. 65/1980 with effect from May 17, 1981; Lembaga Negara No. 65/1980; Swan Sik Ko, The Indonesian Law of Treaties 1945–1990, Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1994, p. 90. For status of conventions, please refer to the following website: http://www.imo.org/About/Conventions/StatusOfConventions/Pages/Default.aspx. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  85. 85.

    John Sundberg, “Piracy: Air and Sea,” De Paul Law Review (DePLW), 20 (1970), p. 385.

  86. 86.

    Georg Schwarzenberger, “The Problem of an International Criminal Law,” Current Legal Problems (CLP), 3 (1950), p. 269.

  87. 87.

    Robert Yewdall Jennings and Arthur Watts, eds, Oppenheim’s International Law: Volume 1: Peace: Intro & Part 1, 9th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 166.

  88. 88.

    The Corfu Channel Case (Merits) (1949) ICJ Rep 4.

  89. 89.

    Tammy M. Sittnick, “State Responsibility and Maritime Terrorism in the Straits of Malacca: Persuading Indonesia and Malaysia to Take Additional Steps to Secure the Straits,” Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal (PRLPJ), 14 (2005), pp. 764–5.

  90. 90.

    Chalk, Grey-Area Phenomena in Southeast Asia, pp. 23–39.

  91. 91.

    Ibid., p. 5.

  92. 92.

    Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver and Jaap de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis (Colorado: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1998), pp. 21–3; see also Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver, Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003).

  93. 93.

    Ibid., pp. 71–162.

  94. 94.

    Emmers, Non-traditional, p. 2.

  95. 95.

    R. J. E. Parsons, “Climate Change: The Hottest Issue in Security Studies?” Risk, Hazards and Crisis in Public Policy 1:1 (2010), pp. 87–116; Adam Kamradt-Scott and Colin McInnes, “The Securitisation of Pandemic Influenza: Framing, Security and Public Policy,” Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice (GPH), 2012, pp. 1–16; Jonathan Bright, “Securitisation, Terror, and Control: Towards a Theory of the Breaking Point,” Review of International Studies (RIS), 38 (2012), pp. 861–79.

  96. 96.

    Tsvetkova, pp. 44–63; Vreÿ, pp. 54–66; Emmers, Non-traditional, pp. 35–60; Adam J. Young, “Roots of Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia,” in Derek Johnson and Mark Valencia, eds, Piracy In Southeast Asia: Status, Issues, and Responses (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2005), p. 1, n2.

  97. 97.

    William M. Carpenter and David G. Wiencek, “Maritime Piracy in Asia,” in William M. Carpenter and David G. Wiencek, eds, Asian Security Handbook: An Assessment of Political-Security Issues in the Asia-Pacific Region (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1996), p. 79.

  98. 98.

    Rob McLaughlin, “Terrorism as a Central Theme in the Evolution of Maritime Operations Law since 11 September 2001,” Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law (YIHL), 14 (2011), p. 393.

  99. 99.

    Buzan, Wæver and de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis, p. 21.

  100. 100.

    Ibid., pp. 25 and 35.

  101. 101.

    Ibid., p. 36.

  102. 102.

    Ibid.

  103. 103.

    Ibid.

  104. 104.

    Ibid., p. 25.

  105. 105.

    Ibid., p. 21.

  106. 106.

    A non-politicised issue is one that the state does not want to address and “it is not in any other way made an issue of public debate and decision….”, ibid., p. 23.

  107. 107.

    A politicised issue is one that is “part of public policy, requiring government decision and resource allocations or, more rarely, some other form of communal governance”, ibid., p. 23.

  108. 108.

    Ibid.

  109. 109.

    Ibid.

  110. 110.

    Ibid.

  111. 111.

    Ibid., p. 25.

  112. 112.

    Ibid., p. 26.

  113. 113.

    Ibid.

  114. 114.

    Ibid., p. 23.

  115. 115.

    Ibid., p. 204 [Emphasis contained in the original text].

  116. 116.

    Ibid., p. 25.

  117. 117.

    Ibid.

  118. 118.

    Ibid., p. 32.

  119. 119.

    Ibid., pp. 32–3.

  120. 120.

    Ibid., p. 32.

  121. 121.

    Ibid., p. 33.

  122. 122.

    Ibid.

  123. 123.

    Ibid., pp. 30–1.

  124. 124.

    Emmers, Non-traditional, pp. 41–42.

  125. 125.

    Zou, “New Developments in the International Law of Piracy,” pp. 338–9.

  126. 126.

    McLaughlin, “Terrorism as a Central Theme,” p. 393; Richardson, A Time Bomb for Global Trade, pp. 49–64.

  127. 127.

    Allison Casey and Matthew Sussex, “Energy Transit States and Maritime Security in the Malacca Straits: The Case of Singapore,” Australian Journal of Maritime and Ocean Affairs (AJMOA) 4:1 (2012), pp. 25–36.

  128. 128.

    Emmers, Non-traditional.

  129. 129.

    Time Magazine, August 23. 2004. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,686107,00.html. (Accessed on May 7, 2013).

  130. 130.

    Mak, Unilateralism, pp. 151–2; Mark J. Valencia, “The Politics of Anti-Piracy and Anti-Terrorism Responses in Southeast Asia,” in Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ed., Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2006), p. 85.

  131. 131.

    Acehnese maritime depredations have since dissipated after: (1) the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka separatist movement entered into a peace accord with the Indonesian government in 2005; and (2) the subsequent arrest of its principal naval commander, Rusli Bin Abdul Gani, in 2007: von Hoesslin, p. 545.

  132. 132.

    Ministry of Home Affairs, White Paper: The Jemaah Islamiyah Arrests and the Threat of Terrorism, Cmd. No. 2 of 2003 (Singapore: Ministry of Home Affairs, 2003).

  133. 133.

    Jakarta Post (JP), May 8, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2003/05/08/police-say-bali-bombing-path-islamic-state.html. (Accessed on May 8, 2013); The Star (Malaysia), November17, 2005. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/11/17/nation/20051117163342&sec=nation. (Accessed on May 8, 2013); The Star (Malaysia), February 2, 2006. Retrieved from http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/2/2/nation/13280284&sec=nation. (Accessed on May 8, 2013).

  134. 134.

    Maritime Department of Malaysia. Retrieved from http://www.marine.gov.my/service/statistik/BKP/Stat%202010/Stat%20Pergerakan%20kapal%202001-2010.pdf. (Accessed on September 1, 2012).

  135. 135.

    Richardson, A Time Bomb for Global Trade, p. 39.

  136. 136.

    Ibid., pp. 41–5.

  137. 137.

    Ibid., pp. 51–60.

  138. 138.

    Carolin Liss, “Private Military and Security Companies in the Fight against Piracy in Southeast Asia,” in Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ed., Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2006), p. 103.

  139. 139.

    Sittnick, “State Responsibility and Maritime Terrorism.”

  140. 140.

    Erik Barrios, “Casting a Wider Net: Addressing the Maritime Piracy Problem in Southeast Asia,” Boston College International and Comparative Law Review (BCICLR), 28 (2005); Mak, Unilateralism.

  141. 141.

    That said, the Littoral States have allowed Indian and US naval warships to escort US ships carrying “high-value” cargo. This arrangement however does not permit foreign joint naval patrols along the Malacca and Singapore Straits: The Hindu (India), April 23, 2002. Retrieved from http://hindu.com/2002/04/23/stories/2002042302911100.htm. (Accessed on May 12, 2013).

  142. 142.

    Casey and Sussex, “Energy Transit States,” pp. 28–9.

  143. 143.

    Tan, “The Emergence of Naval Power,” pp. 120–1.

  144. 144.

    Casey and Sussex, op. cit., pp. 29–31; Hong, “Charting a Maritime Security Cooperation Mechanism,” pp. 404–5.

  145. 145.

    Ibid.

  146. 146.

    Chee Hean Teo, Speech presented at the Opening Ceremony of IMDEX Asia 2003 in Singapore, November 11, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/press_room/official_releases/sp/2003/11nov03_speech.html#.UXSTSbVmh8E. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  147. 147.

    Ibid.

  148. 148.

    Teo, RSS Formidable.

  149. 149.

    Ibid.

  150. 150.

    S Jayakumar, RSS Tenacious, Speech presented at the Launching Ceremony at Singapore Technologies Marine, in Singapore, July15, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.mindef.gov.sg/imindef/press_room/official_releases/sp/2005/15jul05_speech.html#.UXSUyrVmh8E. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  151. 151.

    Ibid.

  152. 152.

    Straits Times Interactive (Singapore), June 2, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.straitstimes.com /storyprintfriendly/0,1887,192467,00.html. (Accessed on June 3, 2003).

  153. 153.

    Singapore Business Times, December 22, 2003, p. 1.

  154. 154.

    Straits Times Interactive (Singapore), January 19, 2004. Retrieved from http://straitstimes.asia1.com/commentary/story/0,4386,230853-1074549540,00.html. (Accessed on January 20, 2004).

  155. 155.

    Straits Times Interactive (STI) (Singapore), March 14, 2005. Retrieved from http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sub/review/story/0,5562,305613,00.html. (Accessed on March 15, 2005).

  156. 156.

    Ibid.

  157. 157.

    Channel News Asia (CNA) (Singapore), June 3, 2005. Retrieved from http//www.channelnewsasia.com/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=malacca%20strait&id=150967 (Accessed on June 4, 2005).

  158. 158.

    Ibid.

  159. 159.

    Teo, IMDEX.

  160. 160.

    STI, March 14, 2005.

  161. 161.

    Ibid.

  162. 162.

    Ibid.

  163. 163.

    Teo, IMDEX.

  164. 164.

    Ibid.

  165. 165.

    Ibid.

  166. 166.

    Ibid.

  167. 167.

    Ibid.

  168. 168.

    Jayakumar, RSS Tenacious [emphasis added].

  169. 169.

    CNA, June 3, 2005.

  170. 170.

    Buzan, Wæver and de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis, pp. 32–3.

  171. 171.

    Robert Putnam, “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital,” Journal of Democracy (JD) 6:1 (1995), p. 67.

  172. 172.

    Casey and Sussex, “Energy Transit States,” pp. 31–3.

  173. 173.

    Mak, Unilateralism, pp. 170–82.

  174. 174.

    Casey and Sussex, op. cit.

  175. 175.

    Mak, op. cit., pp. 139 and 141–143.

  176. 176.

    PEMSEA, Country Facts & Figures of Singapore. Retrieved from http://beta.pemsea.org/country/singapore. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  177. 177.

    Tan, “The Emergence of Naval Power,” p. 124.

  178. 178.

    John Funston, “Malaysia: Developmental State Challenged,” in John Funston, ed., Government and Politics in Southeast Asia (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2001), p. 163.

  179. 179.

    Tan, op. cit., p. 122.

  180. 180.

    Hsien Loong Lee, Keynote address at the NEtwork Conference 2003, in Singapore, May 3, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.mindef.gov.sg/nexus/NEtwrk_conf_keynote_add.asp (accessed on April 22, 2013).

  181. 181.

    Ibid.

  182. 182.

    Ibid.

  183. 183.

    Ibid.

  184. 184.

    Straits Times (ST) (Singapore), July 25, 2003, p. 17. Singapore does not subscribe to this subservient or passive status, and has instead been at the vanguard of trying to securitise the piracy problem along the straits, see Casey and Sussex, “Energy Transit States,” pp. 32–3.

  185. 185.

    See Table 4.1 of this article.

  186. 186.

    Abhyankar, “Piracy, Armed Robbery and Terrorism at Sea,” p. 2.

  187. 187.

    Jakarta Post (JP), May 8, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/05/08/ri-malaysia-play-down-terror-threat-malacca-strait.html. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  188. 188.

    Jakarta Post (JP), July 29, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/07/29/are-we-hunting-sea-pirates-or-robbers.html. (Accessed on April 22 2013).

  189. 189.

    John Bradford, “Southeast Asian Maritime Security in the Age of Terror: Threats, Opportunity, and Charting the Course Forward,” Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies (Singapore) Working Paper Series No. 75, (2005), p. 9.

  190. 190.

    Ibid.

  191. 191.

    New Straits Times (NST) (Malaysia), June 30, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/200406030102319/Article/indexb_htm. (Accessed on July 1, 2005); Jakarta Post (JP), May 8, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/05/08/ri-malaysia-play-down-terror-threat-malacca-strait.html. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  192. 192.

    Buzan, Wæver and de Wilde, Security: A New Framework for Analysis, p. 25.

  193. 193.

    Ibid.

  194. 194.

    Casey and Sussex, “Energy Transit States,” p. 33.

  195. 195.

    As any discerning reader would have immediately noticed, the arguments here would appear to be somewhat tautological or circular in nature. That unfortunately appears to be the nature of such assessments. As Roe pithily noted “[g]enerally speaking, successful securitization is determined in hindsight—if security logic is ex post facto apparent…”, see Paul Roe, “Securitization and Minority Rights: Conditions of Desecuritization,” Security Dialogue (SD) 35:3 (2004), p. 281. By that same token, the obverse, as in this case, is equally true. Thus, the raison d’etre of such an examination is to explain why the securitising act succeeded or failed, and not, whether it has succeeded or failed.

  196. 196.

    Mak, Unilateralism, p. 152. See also Jakarta Post (JP), July 21, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2004/07/21/show-force-launched-protect-vital-strait.html. (Accessed on April 22, 2013); New Straits Times (NST) (Malaysia), May 10, 2004. Retrieved from http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Tuesday/National/20040511070953/Article/indexb_html. (Accessed on May 11, 2004); New Straits Times (NST) (Malaysia), July 1,. 2004. Retrieved from http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thursday/National/20040701105439/Article/indexb_html. (Accessed on July 2, 2004).

  197. 197.

    Mak, Unilateralism, p. 152. This was later clarified by Donald Rumsfeld, the US Secretary of Defence (as he then was), as a misreporting of Admiral Fargo’s statements concerning the RMSI: Christian-Marius Stryken (2007). “The US Regional Maritime Security Initiative and US Grand Strategy in Southeast Asia,” in Kwa Chong Guan and John K. Skogan, eds, Maritime Security in Southeast Asia (London: Routledge, 2007), p. 134. The damage however was already done.

  198. 198.

    Mak, Unilateralism, p. 152.

  199. 199.

    NST, May 10, 2004; NST, July 1, 2004; JP, July 21, 2004.

  200. 200.

    The Standard (TS) (Hong Kong), August 25, 2005. Retrieved from http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Focus/GH25Dh01.html. (Accessed on August 26, 2005).

  201. 201.

    Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, “Southeast Asian Piracy: Research and Developments,” in Graham Gerard Ong-Webb, ed, Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits (Singapore: ISEAS Publishing, 2006), p. xxx.

  202. 202.

    Lloyd’s News (LN), August 11, 2006. Retrieved from http://www.lloyds.com/news-and-insight/news-and-features/archive/2006/08/market_removes_malacca_straits_from_the_list. (Accessed on April 22, 2013).

  203. 203.

    Ibid.

  204. 204.

    Baird, “Transnational Security Issues,” p. 502.

  205. 205.

    Ibid.

  206. 206.

    Thierry Balzacq, “The Three Faces of Securitization: Political Agency, Audience and Context”, European Journal of International Relations (EJIR), 11 (2005), p. 184.

  207. 207.

    Ibid.

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  1. College of Arts, Society and Education, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    Mark David Chong

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  1. New Zealand Asia Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Nicholas Tarling

  2. New Zealand Asia Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Xin Chen

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“Given that part of the material used in this article came from my doctoral research, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisors, Professor Don Rothwell, and Emeritus Professor Ivan Shearer, for their guidance, and wise counsel. I am likewise deeply indebted to the trustees of the Longworth Scholarship as well as the Cooke, Cooke, Coghlan, Godfrey & Littlejohn Scholarship, both of which were administered by the Sydney Law School. I would also like to thank my wife, Sharon; my parents, Dr Chong Seng Kong and Mrs Cynthia Chong; my sister, Melissa; the MacDonald Family (John, Jo, Andrew, Jason and Nicky); Dr Tracy Loh, Dr Mark Hon, Heng and Jeanne Marie; Daniel Tan; Ratner Vellu and Sharayne Tan; Cheah Kuan Tatt; Dr Erwin Lobo; John Tan; Father Kevin Muldoon; Commodore R. S. Vasan (Retired); A/Professor Robert Beckman; Emeritus Professor Robert Reiner; Professor Wayne Morrison; Ms Sue Ng, and Emeritus Professor Terry Carney, for their assistance and encouragement. Finally, this work is lovingly dedicated to my Lord and Father, without whom this article would not have seen the light of day—Ad majorem Dei gloriam.”

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Chong, M.D. (2017). Securitising Piracy and Maritime Terrorism along the Malacca and Singapore Straits: Singapore and the Importance of Facilitating Factors. In: Tarling, N., Chen, X. (eds) Maritime Security in East and Southeast Asia. Palgrave, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2588-4_4

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