RI, THAI MILITARIES TO ENHANCE COOPERATION

Jakarta, Feb 4 (ANTARA) - Indonesia's and Thailand's armed forces have agreed to enhance their cooperation , including in securing the Malacca Strait together with Singapore and Malaysia, Indonesian military chief Gen Djoko Santoso said.

Military cooperation between the two countries has run well so far but it will be stepped up even more and conducted on a wider scale, Santoso said after accompanying Thai Armed Forces Chief Gen Songkitti Jaggabatara at a meeting with Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono here Wednesday.

"We talked about the need to step up the existing cooperation," Santoso said.

Commenting on the Thai military's involvement in maintaining security in the Malacca Strait, the TNI chief said it was beginning to run well.

"Thailand is guarding Zone V in the strait by conducting coordinated patrols with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore," he said.

He said Thailand's participation in the coordinated patrols in the 500-mile-long Malacca Strait was of great importance because it was geographically located at the northern end of one of the world's most crowded sea lanes.

In economic and strategic terms, the Malacca Strait was one of the most important shipping lanes in the world, he said.

The strait is the main shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking major Asian economies such as India, China, Japan and South Korea.

Over 50,000 vessels pass through the strait per year, carrying about one-quarter of the world's traded goods including oil, Chinese manufactures, and Indonesian coffee.

To maintain the security in the strait, Indonesia has established a trilateral security cooperation scheme with Malaysia and Singapore called Malsindo Coordinated Patrol.

In the security activities in Malsindo, a number of control points had been set up in Belawan and Batam in Indonesia, Lumut in Malaysia, and Changi in Singapore.

With Thailand's entry into the scheme, another control point would be set up in the Pukhet area in Thailand.