Thailand joins other Southeast Asian navies in patrols of Strait of Malacca

"We have got an underlying level of intelligence which shows there is a threat."

Admiral Sir Alan West, Britain's top navy officer

Thailand will join three other Southeast Asian navies in patrolling the vital Strait of Malacca shipping lane to combat piracy and terrorism, Indonesia's military chief said.

General Endriartono Sutarto also said Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, which launched joint patrols last month, were open to offers of help from other countries.

"Last week, we expanded with Thailand to conduct coordinated patrols. We are still open to other countries outside the current four if they want to offer assistance," Sutarto said late on Thursday night.

He did not elaborate, but a senior navy officer said yesterday that a greater intelligence capacity was needed to combat militants.

"We are open to any intelligence on terrorism from other countries that can help us because we know terrorism must be fought together," said Indonesian Navy spokesman First Admiral Adiyaman Saputra.

Britain's top navy officer said in an interview published on Thursday that intelligence shows that al-Qaeda has plans to target merchant shipping in a bid to disrupt trade.

"We have got an underlying level of intelligence which shows there is a threat," the Royal Navy's First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Sir Alan West, was quoted as saying by Lloyd's List maritime newspaper.

West said ports and strategic sea lanes like the Malacca Straits posed the biggest risks as ships stack up in numbers. More than 50,000 commercial vessels sail the 800km channel each year.