hijack of a ship carrying hazardous cargo and directing
it towards a tanker farm or port infrastructure; and
attacks on port infrastructure or attacks on US (or other
Western states’) naval ships in port. The implications for
global economies should an oil tanker or vessel carrying
hazardous cargo be sunk in a choke point such as the
Malacca Straits – which would disrupt maritime traffic
and trade routes, potentially raise maritime insurance
premiums as well as cause environmental damage and
destroy fishing zones – has raised the attention of the
international community.
But piracy and maritime terrorism do converge in
that they are both pre-meditated transnational criminal
activities, carried out by non-state actors or transnational
groups (though allegations of state complicity both overt
and covert have been made) and aimed at civilians. Both
activities are generally carried out at sea and using small
arms or light weapons and violent and organised tactics
and approaches. And both crimes create a climate of
fear and terror with possible threats to human security.
Further, some of the economic circumstances which
allow piracy and maritime terrorism to flourish are similar
such as poverty, political instability, porous state borders
and lack of adequate state enforcement and legislative
measures. The impacts of both activities are also related
in that they both threaten the security of global and
Southeast Asian SLOCs, posing severe consequences
for global economies and maritime environments as well
as threatening regional political stability.
However, not all analysts believe that piracy and
maritime terrorism are distinct