The government today said that the collision of a Singaporean navy ship with a merchant vessel at a disputed islet could have been avoided if both countries had carried out joint sea patrols.

A female Singaporean officer died and another three women went missing in the collision late Friday between the RSS Courageous and the ANL Indonesia in the Singapore Straits near the islet of Pedra Branca, where Singapore maintains a lighthouse.

The islet is also claimed by the Malaysian government, which calls it Batu Puteh.

"Such accidents can be avoided," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

"It is good when both parties carry out monitoring... I think it's better for us to cooperate with each other and understand each other's presence without the intention of getting engaged in aggression or physical contact."

Regret

Syed Hamid said Malaysia regretted the tragedy. Despite a dispute over ownership of Batu Puteh, he called for joint sea patrols with Singapore in the busy waters near the islet to prevent future incidents.

Singapore has stepped up surveillance around the islet and recently prevented a Malaysian marine police boat carrying a group of journalists from approaching the area.

Malaysia maintains it has had sovereignty over the island since the early 16th century.

But Singapore says it has exercised sovereign rights since the 1840s when the British colonial government occupied the islet and constructed a lighthouse.

The two countries have agreed to refer the row to the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

Defence Minister Najib Razak also said today that Malaysia had allowed Singapore to use its helicopters and ships to comb its water for the three missing crew.

A body, believed to be one of the three missing woman, was found today at a beach resort on the Indonesian island of Bintan, which is closed to Singapore.