MMEA safeguards Malaysian waters

In spite of recent attacks, MMEA say situation under control.

MMEA safeguards Malaysian waters from pirates

Using sophisticated equipment and with help from Singapore and Indonesia, Malaysia polices territorial waters, curbing regional piracy.

By Grace Chen for Khabar Southeast Asia in Kuala Lumpur

The South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca off Malaysia, have seen recent acts of piracy targeting oil tankers, cargo ships and other merchant ships, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) in Kuala Lumpur.

Though IMB tracks worldwide piracy, policing of national waters is the responsibility of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). In an interview with Khabar Southeast Asia, Vice-Admiral Datuk Ahmad Puzi Abdul Kahar, MMEA’s deputy director-general for operations, discusses how his agency handles the piracy threat and how it goes about its duties of guarding the country’s coastlines and territorial waters.

Khabar: What is behind the recent spate of pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea?

Ahmad: The situation is very much under control because of the excellent co-operation betweenMalaysian, Singaporean and Indonesian authorities.

On the well-publicised case where ten heavily armed pirates boarded a fuel tanker and made off with part of the cargo this April, an ongoing investigation by MMEA has confirmed it to be an inside job.

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Source: khabarsoutheastasia.com