Six years after it was declared a war-risk zone for international shipping, the Straits of Malacca last year achieved a "close to zero incident level".Defence Forces chief Jen Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin said it was due to the collaboration among the countries which formed the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
"The four countries have been working closely in ensuring the security of the straits," he said, adding that this would be the fifth year since the establishment of the MSP.
Jen Azizan said the number of sea robbery cases had seen a dramatic reduction in recent years, from 38 in 2004 to only nine in 2006.
He added that the 2010 International Maritime Bureau Piracy Report showed that the threats in the straits was now close to the zero incident level.
However, he said, the emergence of activities such as terrorism and robbery at sea was a growing concern that needed to be addres-sed.
He said research showed that 80% of oil and gas imports from East Asia and 30% of global trade passed through the Straits of Malacca every year.
"Hence, it is vital for us to work together to ensure continuous safe passage through the Straits of Malacca, the South China Sea and other important sea routes in the region," he said when closing the Malacca and Singapore Straits Patrol Seminar 2011 here yesterday.
Earlier, Information Fusion Centre (IFC) head Lt-Col Nicholas Lim said the centre had expanded its shipping database from 14 to 26 countries with more than 200,000 ships in the past two years.
He said the IFC conducted meetings with the shipping community twice a month to exchange information and perspectives.
"We aim to help the shipping community to better understand how the MSP functions and how they can play a part in safe-guarding maritime security," he said, adding that the shipping community could help by providing immediate reports of incidents at sea.