Malaysia has set up its own coastguard to help strengthen maritime security in the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest sea lanes, the government said on Monday.
But the new Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, drawing mainly on the resources of the navy and the marine police, will initially play only a limited role, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said.
"It will start operation on a limited basis on November 30," said Najib, who is also defence minister. "We cannot develop an organisation overnight."
With just 500 staff and 72 vessels seconded mainly from the navy and the police, the agency will initially patrol only certain stretches of the 805-km (500-mile) waterway, he said. The number of staff will be raised gradually to about 4,000. More vessels and even helicopters will be added over the next few years, Najib told reporters.
The move came about a month after Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia - the three littoral states - and Thailand started joint air patrols over the strait.
The four nations contributed two aircraft each for the "Eye in the Sky" operation.
The busy strait carries a quarter of global trade and nearly all oil imports for Japan, South Korea and China. There are fears the narrow waterway, already plagued by pirates, could become a target for a terror attack.
More than 63,000 vessels passed through the strait last year, Malaysian data showed.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore launched co-ordinated sea patrols of the Malacca Strait last year, but piracy and robbery have remained rampant.
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