Meanwhile Back in Malacca :Japan to fund Singapore anti-piracy center

Reported here:

Japan plans to provide $360,000 toward the operating costs of an anti-piracy center to be established in Singapore.

Since many Japanese have been victims of piracy in and around the Malacca Strait, the government has decided to become actively involved in the center`s operations, which are aimed at sharing information on pirates in the area, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.

The government plans to continue providing financial assistance to the center from 2007 and beyond, which is expected to be set up next spring.

The center will be established as an international organization under the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Prevention and Suppression of Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia.

The anti-piracy agreement was adopted in November in Tokyo by 16 countries, including the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China, India, Japan and South Korea.

Information on piracy, such as spotting and tracking pirates in and around the strait, will be gathered at the center and shared by concerned countries.

The Japanese government plans to provide Indonesia with several new patrol ships in 2006 to help the country patrol for pirates, the newspaper reported.