MALAYSIA aspires to become “a truly maritime nation”.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had expressed this on Dec 4, 1997 and March 27, 2019.
Hence, he advocated “the need for an ocean governance regime for Malaysia, with an overarching policy encompassing all maritime aspects from security to safety, to economy and the environment”.
He also said, “Enforcing the various maritime laws in Malaysia is a fragmented affair, cutting across more than 10 ministries and 31 maritime-related agencies”; and if this continued, “the overlapping of jurisdictions and conflicts of interests between the sectors will never be resolved”.
The above reflected the reality in the management of Malaysia’s maritime space. As such, how should this be resolved and who should be the leading agency or coordinator? The length and breadth of Malaysia’s maritime zones of national interest, the axis of its maritime security and defence and the nature of its enforcement approaches are influenced by several factors:
ONE, Malaysia is located in Southeast Asia’s strategic waters, in the Indo-Pacific zone of the Oceanic Bridge and in the Asia-Pacific geopolitical hub;
TWO, the management of Malaysia’s maritime space involves many stakeholders ranging from security and defence, law enforcement, as well as petroleum and fishing industries;
THREE, Malaysia’s maritime domain, which includes the world’s busiest international shipping routes in the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea, causes its management to involve many user states and non-state actors;
FOUR, the management of Malaysian waters also involves Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore as littoral states to the Straits of Malacca and the Straits of Singapore; as well as Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia in the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea;
FIVE, the management of Malaysia’s maritime territory in the Spratly Archipelago, which is rich in oil, gas, fisheries and minerals, involves regional and international state actors;
SIX, Malaysia’s maritime zones are also threatened by piracy, human trafficking, smuggling, intrusions by foreign fishermen, and possible maritime terrorism; and,
SEVEN, most importantly, Malaysia does not have a clearly constituted national body to coordinate the management of its maritime space.
These factors relate to the fact that Malaysia is a unique maritime nation, with its eastern region as part of the Borneo Island, and its western region as a peninsula at the southern tip of the Asian continent being separated by the South China Sea.
Malaysia’s eastern region also borders the Celebes Sea in the east, the Sulu Sea in the north, and the South China Sea in the west while its western region is flanked by the South China Sea in the east, the Straits of Malacca in the West and the Straits of Singapore in the South.
Strategically, the Celebes Sea is the Pacific gateway to Southeast Asia and East Asia; the Sulu Sea is allegedly a haven for terrorists and kidnap-for-ransom activities; and the South China Sea is the world’s busiest maritime region in the 21st century.
Similarly, the Straits of Malacca bridges the Indian Ocean with the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean, through the Straits of Singapore. Both of these waterways are also vital to Malaysia’s naval movement to and from the west coasts of Peninsular Malaysia to Sabah and Sarawak.
The Malaysian Armed Forces, despite its limited capability, is doing its best to defend Malaysia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity in these maritime zones. Additionally, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have set up the Malacca Straits Patrol (MSP) initiative, the MSP Intelligence Exchange Group, as well as the Eyes-in-the-Sky initiative to secure and defend the Straits of Malacca.
Together with the International Maritime Organisation, these countries also formed the Cooperative Mechanism in 2004 “to engage user states, the shipping industry and other stakeholders to participate and share the responsibility of maintaining and enhancing the safety of navigation and protection of the marine environment in the Straits of Malacca”.
Responding to increased kidnap-for-ransom cases in the Sulu Sea, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia formed the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement in 2017 to secure and defend the Sulu Sea through maritime and air patrols. These initiatives illustrate the commitment of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore to secure and defend the Straits of Malacca and the Straits of Singapore; and the commitment of Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia in securing and defending the Sulu Sea and the Celebes Sea.
But Malaysia also has the marine police, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and stakeholders in petroleum and fisheries in the management of its security, defence and economic interests in the above maritime space. The government may thus want to constitute a national body to coordinate the above activities, and accelerate the emergence of “a truly maritime nation”.
The writer is a student of strategic and security studies, and a member of parliament for Parit Sulong, Johor, 1990-2003