Joint air patrols to curb pirate attacks

KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday (AP) Four Southeast Asian countries on Tuesday launched a landmark programme of joint air patrols to prevent pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca, through which half of the world's oil is shipped.

Military representatives from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand were at Kuala Lumpur's Subang Airport when the first joint patrol aircraft - a Malaysian C130 Hercules - took off as part of the "Eyes in the Sky" project.

The plane carried representatives from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, which all border the Strait of Malacca.

Thailand, which joined the agreement last month, was to send representatives later. Under the plan, each country will conduct two patrols every week with a team of personnel from all four nations.

"We cannot just maintain our position from the point of international law without doing something to allay the fears of the international community," Malaysia's Defence Minister, Najib Razak, said in a speech on Tuesday. "We hope there will be offers from the international community to participate," he said.

Each of the four countries already patrols the strait by air - but under the Eyes in the Sky project, they will be able to cross into each other's air space.

More than 50,000 ships, carrying half the world's oil and a third of its commerce, use the Strait of Malacca each year. Pirates often target the 900-kilometre waterway, with officials reporting 37 attacks there last year.