The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water between West Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is effectively a 'short-cut' linking the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean and is therefore a vital sea lane of communication for world trade. One of the busiest sea trade routes in the world today, around 40 per cent of world trade passes through it and this is what makes it a especially attractive for pirates.
 
In the year 2004 alone there were 38 cases of piracy in the strait - an increase of ten from the previous year. In 2005 the insurance company Lloyd’s of London listed the Strait of Malacca as the world’s number one hot-spot of sea piracy and piracy became the gravest concern for ships passing through it.

Today however, the situation has changed dramatically. According to the International Maritime Bureau there were only two attacks in the Strait in 2008 and so far in 2009 there has been just one reported case of piracy. What is the cause of such a dramatic drop in incidents of piracy in the Strait of Malacca?

There are several reasons for the change in security conditions in the Strait. The first being the Tsunami of 2004. The tsunami wiped out the institutional structures of pirates such as their bases and hideouts in the sea, destroying their infrastructure and directly contributing to a decreased number of attacks in the Strait.

The second reason is the mutual cooperation among littoral states in combating the threat of piracy. It is interesting to note that these states had earlier rejected the United States’ offer of patrolling the Strait before deciding to do it themselves. In 2005 a trilateral partnership was forged among Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore on information sharing and patrolling in the Strait. In yet another act of cooperation on maritime surveillance in the Strait of Malacca a joint air patrolling named “Eyes in Sky” was launched by Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in the same year. Coordinated participation by each state for the purposes of joint air patrolling was also agreed upon.
 
The maritime countries of Southeast Asia have kept the momentum going in subsequent years. In 2006 Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia signed the straits of Malacca Patrol Joint Coordination Committee Terms of Reference (TOR) and Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) to jointly act in order to tighten security in the Strait. In 2008 Thailand too became part of the joint committee for joint air and surface patrols. This combined effort had a decisive effect in limiting the piracy activity in the strait.

Help from extra regional actors (especially United States and Japan) can be considered yet another factor in the reduction of attacks in the strait. The United States was and still is instrumental in sharing intelligence, technology and training advice with the littoral countries which was of great importance in their operations against pirates. Japan on the other hand contributed by taking a lead in singing an agreement called the Regional cooperation Agreement on Anti Piracy in Asia (ReCAAP) which came into force in 2006. It is the first inter-governmental agreement that addresses the issue of piracy and armed robbery in Asia. Its main aim is to exchange information on incidents of piracy and armed robbery, facilitate operational cooperation among the countries and support the capacity building efforts among nations.

These combined efforts have enabled a check on piracy in the Strait and today, traffic through the Strait is by and large unhindered. There are lessons to be drawn by Southeast Asian countries from this success story. It demonstrates yet again that although the “Zero Sum” game remains popular in world politics, there also exist issue areas where such formulations have very limited applicability. Had the “Zero-Sum” approach been taken by the countries afflicted by the threat of piracy in the Strait of Malacca, cooperation at any level would have been inconceivable. Given the success of this cooperative behavior, countries of the region should increase the scope of their cooperation and identify issue areas where a more united effort would be useful.

The case of the South China Sea is one where the lessons learned from the Malacca story can be applied. The dispute in the South China Sea has been aggravated by a reiteration of Chinese claims and a Chinese ban on Vietnamese fishing vessels in the area. Instead of taking a bilateral approach on the issue when dealing with China, it would be more pragmatic to bargain with China collectively. Countries of the region can identify more such areas of cooperation were collective effort is not only desirable but also realistic. Fresh from the successes achieved in the Malacca Strait, this is a perfect time for Southeast Asian countries to forget their intra-regional rivalries and strengthen cooperation. By doing so they can prevent others from "fishing in their troubled waters."