(AFP) Worldwide experts on today began a two-day meeting on ways to fight Asia's piracy scourge as news emerged of two more ship hijackings in the region.

The two incidents drew immediate condemnation from the British-based International Maritime Bureau (IMB).

"There is an increasing problem of violent attacks," its director PK Mukundan said. "Piracy has to be taken seriously. We need to resolve the problem.

"They (regional countries) have to allocate the resources to deal with it. They cannot close their eyes to this problem."

The IMB is organising the closed-door meeting of law enforcers, seafarers and shipping industry representatives.

Its focus is on Asia, the world's most pirate-infested region, and on Indonesia especially.

According to the IMB's Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Centre, worldwide actual or attempted piracy attacks hit a 10-year quarterly high of 68 over January to March.

Indonesia accounted for 23 incidents and nine more occurred in the busy Malacca Strait separating it from Malaysia.

The two latest hijacks were in Indonesian waters, said Malaysian marine police chief Muhamad Muda.

Political will needed

He said the Indonesian-registered Tirta Niaga was attacked and its crew overpowered last night after it set sail from Malaysia, carrying palmoil bound for India.

"The pirates have kidnapped its Indonesian captain and are holding him on land for ransom somewhere in (Indonesia's) North Sumatra while the remaining 20 crewmen are on board the ship."

Muhamad said the Malaysian-registered MT Selayang, which had sailed from Port Dickson in Malaysia with a cargo of gasoil, was attacked near Borneo island on June 19. Pirates are still on board the ship.

The IMB's Mukundan said countries should realise that nothing could be done to eradicate piracy without the political will.

"We have done a lot of talking. The time is now right to deal with the issue. It is a serious problem.

"Malaysia is taking a lot of action but there other countries which are not," Mukundan said.

Asian nations pledged at a Tokyo conference in April last year to step up cooperation against robbery and murder on the high seas, although China refused to participate in joint maritime patrols.

SM Darojatim, a senior Indonesian navy official, said Jakarta views piracy as the number one enemy of the state.

"We have done our part to coordinate efforts in the fight against piracy. We never stop in our efforts but it needs time," he said.

International mafia

Darojatim said there were about 40 Indonesian navy ships in the Malacca Strait plus military aircraft.

He speculated that there could be an international mafia behind the attacks.

Jon Whitlow, of the International Transport Workers' Federation, said Indonesian waters topped seafarers' fears.

His members were "gravely concerned about the persistence of piracy and violent attacks".

"We believe what is crucially required is the necessary political will to put an end to this tenacious crime," Whitlow said.

Hiroshi Terashima, executive director of the Nippon Foundation of Japanese shipowners, told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that the piracy threat continues unabated because of a lack of cooperation between regional countries.

Terashima said Japan is concerned because 80 percent of its oil imports come through the narrow Malacca Strait.

Admitting that international syndicates may be behind some attacks, he said only a common strategy by regional countries could halt the rise in attacks.