Java Sea, Lombok Strait becoming more dangerous

Apparently the Strait of Malacca states want attention focused someplace new:

The government has added the Java Sea and Lombok Strait to the Strait of Malacca as the most dangerous waters in terms of pirate attacks on merchant vessels.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said his ministry had sufficient evidence to declare the Java Sea and Lombok Strait dangerous for merchant vessels, although there were no exact figures on the number of pirate attacks in these two bodies of waters.

"Aside from the Strait of Malacca, the ministry has found that the Java Sea and Lombok Strait contain a high degree of risk from piracy," he said at the Presidential Palace on Tuesday.

Hatta said the ministry's coast guard units had reported a rising number of pirate attacks in the two waters, presumably aided by a lack of security personnel to guard the waters. The rising incidence of piracy could also be the result of the general poverty of the people living along the bodies of water.

Of course, Australia relies on the Lombok Strait as noted here.