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."