For centuries the Straits of Malacca bordered by Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, has been the most-used international waterway for maritime transport and global commerce. It provides the shortest connection from the West to the East via the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea and then onwards to the Pacific Ocean. As a major sea lane of communication (SLOC) it is in the interest of user-countries to ensure unimpeded passage for shipping and trade. Of late several developments in the Straits have raised the serious concerns of the international community. These include: dangers of collision and oil-spills resulting from the increase in tonnage of goods and services passing through the Straits; environmental hazards such as pollutants from industrial waste discharged by the coastal states; threats from piracy and terrorism; decline in marine resources; degradation of the ecosystems; possible infrastructure development such as pipelines and bridges and national and international security issues pertinent to the coastal states and the user-countries
Efforts have been undertaken by the coastal states to ensure the safety of navigation and the sustainability of resources and economic development in the Straits. The international community has contributed in terms of funds and expertise. But more needs to be done by way of mitigating the effects of climate change on the Straits itself and establishing emergency preparedness operations at the two extreme ends of the Straits, on the island of Penang and the port of Tanjung Pelepas at the southern tip of the Peninsular.
The establishment of an environmental hub and an oceanographic observatory in these centres will serve the long-term needs of maritime security in the Straits of Malacca and enhance the sustainability of resources and economic development in the region as a whole.
It is proposed that the concerned agencies in Malaysia should collaborate in an organized and committed manner with the United States to determine the modalities of this cooperation bearing in mind the following:
- the policy dimension
- the utilization dimension
- the environmental dimension.
It is imperative that a cooperation of this nature must involve and indeed engage the highest levels of Government for it to succeed. Issues such as finance and compensation, security, legal and regulatory and final use will occupy our attention.
The use of the facilities to be established at the two centres will be opened to all users of the Straits and other concerned parties to be determined by the relevant Governments. Some of the operational costs and the initial outlay can be shared out by all stakeholders. The venture is finally to be run on a profit basis and will be self-generating financially.
This will be the highpoint of the cooperation where the collaborating parties will seek to utilise research findings and expertise to manage and operate the Centres. It will function as a world–class research and innovation facility on Oceans, Straits waterways, marine-life and ecosystems with a view to restoring the balance between human development and environmental sustainability in the Straits of Malacca. Among the areas of research that can be undertaken jointly are the following:
Inventory of Marine Resources and Biology
Tidal Movements: frequencies and changes
Ocean levels
Optimum Shipping Tonnage
Geological Mapping of the Straits
Installation and Operation of Emergency Preparedness Facilities
Engineering Models of the Environmental Hubs
Socio-Economic Studies related to operations of the hubs
United States oil companies that are operating in the area have the capacity to respond to the needs of this project and from the Malaysian side the parties that will participate are the existing Research Institutes dealing with the Straits of Malacca either as part of Universities or stand-alones. On the US side the inclusion of other stakeholders such as oil equipment suppliers and oil contractors and others to be identified will definitely benefit from the project.
Allied to the Straits of Malacca there are three projects that are in the pipeline and that can be of interest to American participation: a US$ 7 billion Trans-Peninsular pipeline linking the town of Yan on the West Coast to Bachok in the East Coast; a US$ 600 million Asian Petroleum Hub on a man-made island in South Johore and the proposed Marine Electronic Highway in the Straits of Malacca.
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