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Piracy in the Strait of Malacca was common in the past, and is currently on the rise again in recent years possibly for terrorism-related reasons. The geography in the Strait of Malacca makes the region very susceptible to piracy. It was, and still is, an important passageway between China and India, and was used heavily for commercial trade. The strait is narrow, contain thousands of islets, and is an outlet for many rivers, making it an ideal location for pirates to hide and evade capture. Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... The flag of 18th-century pirate Calico Jack Piracy is robbery committed at sea, or sometimes on the shore, by an agent without a commission from a sovereign nation. ... This wide-angle map of south-east Asia shows that the Strait is the most direct route from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific. ... Terrorist redirects here. ...

History

Historically, piracy in the Strait of Malacca was not only a lucrative way of life, but also an important political tool. Rulers relied on the region's pirates to maintain control. One famous example was the 14th century Palembang prince, Parameswara. It was through the loyalty of the Orang Laut pirates that Parameswara survived expansion attempts of neigbhoring rulers and eventually went on to found the Sultanate of Malacca. Location of Palembang Palembang is a city in the south of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. ... Parameswara (1344-1424) was a Malay prince from Srivijaya that founded the Sultanate of Malacca around 1402. ... Orang Laut are a group of Malay people living in the Riau Islands of Indonesia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

The 18th and 19th century saw the increase of piracy in the strait as European colonisers arrived in the region. Increased commercial traffic through the strait and the poor economic conditions of the local populations drove many people to piracy. Piracy was also sometimes used as a form of political resistance to colonialism. Pirate crews often came from the Lanun people, a people native to the coastal villages in the region. Chinese pirates, outcasts of Qing dynasty China, can also be found to prey on unsuspecting trading ships. This article is about the continent. ... See colony and colonisation for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism. ... The Qing Dynasty (Chinese: ; Pinyin: Qīng cháo; Wade-Giles: Ching chao; Manchu: daicing gurun), occasionally known as the Manchu Dynasty, is a Chinese term for the Empire of the Great Qing (Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: dàqīngguó), founded by the Manchu clan Aisin Gioro, in what...

In the 1830s, the controlling colonial powers in the region, the British and the Dutch, agreed to curb the rampant piracy. They drew the British-Dutch demarcation along the strait and agreed to fight against piracy on their own side of the demarcation line. This demarcation line would eventually become the modern day's border between Malaysia and Indonesia in the strait. Increased patrolling and superior seafaring technology on the part of the European powers, as well as improved political stability and economic conditions in the region, eventually allowed the European powers to greatly curb piracy in the region by the 1870s.

Modern piracy

In recent years, piracy in the Strait of Malacca has been on the rise. In 2004, the region accounted for 40% of piracy worldwide. The September 11 attacks also heightened the perceived threat of terrorism-related piracy. The strait remains a very important and busy commercial sea route today, and additionally, it has become the most important route of transport for oil from the Middle East to oil markets in East Asia. A sequential look at United Flight 175 crashing into the south tower of the World Trade Center The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11—pronounced nine eleven or nine one one) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. ...

According to the International Maritime Bureau, the majority of modern pirates in the region are of Indonesian origin. Of the countries in the region, Indonesia's navy is least equipped to combat piracy. Instances of modern piracy typically fall under one of three categories: pirates looking for easy profit, pirates working with or belonging to organised crime syndicates, or pirates associated with terrorist or successionist groups with political motivations. The International Maritime Bureau is a specialised bureau of the International Chamber of Commerce. ... A criminal organization is a group run by criminals to further their illegal activities. ... Succession is the act or process of pooing or of following in order or sequence. ...

Pirates looking only for easy profit are usually criminals of opportunity. They look for easy targets, robbing ships and their crews of money and valuables. Those belonging to organised criminal syndicates attack with more sophistication and planning. Their operations require skill, coordination, and funding. They steal large cargos and kidnap ships' crews for ransom. The kind of piracy related to terrorism operates similarly to those related to organised crime. They differ in motivation in that they seek to gain funding to continue terrorist activities or they seek to make political statements.

In 2004, the three countries in the region, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore increased efforts to patrol the strait in an attempt to curb piracy. While Singapore wants international support in this effort, Indonesia and Malaysia are opposed to foreign intervention. It remains to be seen whether or not the three countries will be able to stamp out piracy. The problem is especially acute in Indonesia. There were 325 reported pirate attacks worldwide in 2004, while nine occurred in Malaysian waters and eight in Singaporean waters, a total of 93 occurred in Indonesian waters.

Prominent pirates in the Strait of Malacca

• Liang Dao Ming (梁道明)

Map of Liang Dao Mings Old Port Palembang. ...

See also

• Wokou
• Piracy in the Caribbean

16th century Japanese pirate raids. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• Old Malacca
• Pirates Still Infest Asian Waters
• Southeast Asia's modern-day pirates
• Pirates mock Malacca Strait security