Cooperating to Ensure the Safety of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore
The Straits of Malacca and Singapore are a vital shipping lane linking Asia with Europe and the Middle East. The narrow straits with their predominantly shallow waters constitute a treacherous choke point for passing vessels. Japan has been cooperating with the three littoral States of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore since the 1960s to enhance the safety of navigation, including conducting joint hydrographic surveys.
“Ensuring navigational safety in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is a key area of maritime cooperation that will benefit the entire ASEAN region. Japan has been working together with the three littoral States since the 1960s and has contributed to the safety of navigation in the straits in a number of areas, including the removal of shipwrecks, hydrographic surveys, and the production of electronic navigational charts,” said NAGAMATSU Kenji, executive director of the Malacca Strait Council (MSC) of Japan.
The littoral States and Japan targeted five specific areas within the Straits of Malacca and Singapore that required particularly urgent action. In Phase I of the survey, which ran from 2015 to 2016, financial cooperation and the dispatch of engineers were provided through the Japanese Shipowners’ Association, the Japan Hydrographic Association, and the MSC. In Phase II, which began conducting its survey in 2018 and covered a larger sea area, approximately 1 billion yen was budgeted by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund, established to support integration among ASEAN nations. The MSC oversaw coordination and managed the progress while the private from Aero Asahi Corporation conducted the survey.
