Asian countries still needed to improve security in some of the world's busiest commercial waterways amid increased fears of piracy and maritime terrorism, a conference heard today.

Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy told the two-day meeting on maritime security that some shipping lanes would remain vulnerable unless they were protected vigilantly.

"It is time for Asian countries with busy waterways to recognize the potential threats and problems that may arise if shipping lanes are not monitored and enforced properly," Chan said.

Singapore and Malaysia are already discussing the possibility of providing security on ships plying the Malacca Straits to guard against terrorist attacks, Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan said in August.

Chan did not identify any Asian country that needs to step up security, but Noel Choong, regional manager with the International Maritime Bureau in Kuala Lumpur told AFP that neighbouring Indonesia still lagged behind.

"We would like to see countries like Indonesia beefing up its patrols because a lot of piracy occurs in Indonesian waters," he said.

Choong said there had been two confirmed kidnap and ransom cases in the Malacca Straits off the coast of Belawan in Indonesian waters this month.

"It's not a very good sign. These are serious crimes. We had hoped that with the coordinated patrols, these incidents would decrease. But this is not the case," he added.

Coordinated patrols

Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia in July began coordinated patrols in the Malacca Straits, a narrow waterway that hosts one of the the world's busiest shipping lanes.

But Malaysia has ruled out the idea of US marines helping to patrol the waterway, saying such a move would merely provoke Islamic militants.

Chan said Asia, which accounts for the largest concentration of shipping lines in the world and generates more than 48 percent of the world's container throughput, needs to ensure the safety of its shipping routes.

Among the important waterways in the region are the Malacca Straits, South China Sea, Sunda Straits, Lombok Straits, Straits of Makassar, Sulawesi Sea, Philippines Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Chan said these sealanes need to remain safe and secure to foster sustained growth and development as they provided "vital links between our region to major markets in China, North America, Europe and Japan."

Chan did not specify the nature of threat but neighbouring Singapore has expressed fears pirates could team up with terrorists and mount a devastating attack on the Malacca Straits to cripple global trade.

Higher traffic

Traffic in the Malacca Straits - which carries half the world's oil and a third of its trade - has risen to over 62,000 in 2003 compared to nearly 44,000 in 1999, he said.

Key Asian shipping nations have met a deadline to implement anti-terrorist measures for ports and vessels.

Hong Kong and Singapore, two of the world's busiest ports, have reported 100 percent compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code which went into effect globally last July.

The code, adopted in December 2002, requires ports and ships to draw up stringent plans to prevent a maritime version of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks in the United States in which terrorists turned hijacked planes into guided missiles.