Self-Defence Weapons in Malacca Strait?

The China Post says an upcoming meeting between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will touch on ships passing through the Malacca Strait being able to arm themselves for defence against pirates as reported here.

Nations along the Malacca Strait will discuss whether to allow commercial vessels to carry weapons to protect themselves against pirates in the key shipping lane, news reports said Sunday.
The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore will discuss the issue at a meeting on Indonesia's Batam island next month, the reports said. They said the date of the meeting had not yet been fixed.

A guideline on the carrying of arms is crucial because of recent reports of weapons aboard some commercial ships in the strait, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying.

"Their reason for being armed is to guard the goods against pirates," The Star newspaper quoted him as saying. "This is a worrying trend that needs to be checked before it becomes a problem."

Was he talking about the piracy or the possibility of armed ships?