Word: straits
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...piracy problem became so severe that it was threatening local economies - especially Malaysia and Singapore, which rely heavily on trade for economic growth. Fears were also raised in regional capitals that outside powers - whose own trade was being affected in the seizures - would intervene in the strait if the local governments didn't solve the problem themselves. A new spirit of cooperation took hold along the strait. "All of us shared the same goal and objective," says Zahari Jamian, a captain in the Royal Malaysian Navy, "to paint the picture to the world that the strait is not really...
...centuries, the Strait of Malacca has been one of the great thoroughfares of global commerce. In the old days of wood and sail, the 500-mile ribbon of water, which connects the Indian and Pacific oceans between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, carried pricey spices from the islands of the Indies to the eager markets of the West. Today, about 40% of the world's trade passes through the strait on 50,000 vessels that ply its waters every year. Oil from the Persian Gulf flows east to China and Asia's other voracious economies, which in turn...
...With such juicy pickings, it's no wonder that the strait has long been a popular hunting ground for pirates. The sheer quantity of ships passing through its confined space - at one point the strait narrows to a mere 1.7 miles - makes spotting potential targets easy for pirates, and its route is a Hollywood-ready seascape of tropical isles and secret coves, providing ample hideaways. Earlier this decade, the waterway's piracy problem reached crisis levels. Attacks ranged from small-scale robberies by lightly armed desperados to highly organized hijackings of giant vessels by teams of professionals. According...
...today, it's the pirates who are on the run. While piracy in Africa has become a major international security concern, the problem in the strait has been almost completely eradicated. Only two attacks were attempted there in 2008, even as the global total reached a record high. In the first quarter of 2009, the bureau reported that the number of pirate attacks around the world nearly doubled, to 102 incidents, compared with the same period last year; only one of them occurred in the Strait of Malacca. (Read a brief history of pirates...
...What happened? Maritime security analysts say a combination of factors - both on sea and land - contributed to the pirates' near total defeat. Most significantly, the success in the strait shows how concerted and well-coordinated action by regional governments can prevent pirate attacks on commercial shipping. "From Roman times to the Barbary pirates, throughout history, the reasons [for resolving piracy] are always the same," says Pottengal Mukundan, director of the International Marine Bureau in London. "For pirates, it becomes a much riskier activity. That is really the deterrent...