Indonesia first topped the world piracy league several years ago and its unique geographical, political and economic circumstances means its dominance — 27% of all reported attacks to the International Maritime Bureau in the first quarter of this year — is unlikely to be threatened in the near future.
First there is its size. The world’s largest archipelago is made up of more than 17 500 islands, and its borders would be porous with even the most modern, well-funded and professional navy and coastguard in the world.
Yet Indonesia’s resources — financial, technical and human — are at the opposite end of the scale.
In many areas ships can come and go at will. The tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who have sneaked into Indonesia in attempts to reach Australia over the past few years are testament to this.
This lack of border control is partly due to financial constraints. Indonesia has endured economic turmoil for the past six years and is only just starting to show signs of recovery.
In such circumstances combating piracy has not, understandably, been the highest priority.
The chief security minister, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, admitted after a recent maritime security meeting that the situation was bad.
”We do realise that [our] weaponry, instruments and technology in carrying out detection and pursuit are not enough,” he said.
Its performance would have been a lot better without endemic corruption. There are regular reports of officials aiding pirates, although the number prosecuted is minuscule.
Local officials are getting away with it, partly because of a lack of political will at the highest level.
Ministers regularly make speeches, attend conferences and announce initiatives on issues such as people smuggling but piracy rarely hits the headlines.
Then there is the location. Indonesia lies on some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, namely the Malacca Straits between Sumatra and the Malay peninsula, and the Sunda Straits, which runs between the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java.
The volume of traffic is so huge it is easy for heavily armed gangs in fast, manoeuvrable motorboats to strike as they please and then escape undetected to either the Sumatran or Malaysian coast. – Guardian Unlimited Â