Piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait
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Frequent incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the Singapore Strait have led to the area being labelled as an area of concern by the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (RECAAP).[1] The Singapore Strait is located south of Singapore, south-east of Malaysia and north of the Indonesian Riau Islands.[2] The Singapore Strait is roughly 113 km long with an average width of 19 km.[2] The Singapore Strait was the location of 65% (55 out of 84) of all incidents of piracy and armed robbery which occurred in Asia in 2022,[1] marking a seven year high in recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the area.[3]
Between 2007- 2022, 11% of recorded incidents in the Singapore Strait were incidents of piracy and 89% were incidents of armed robbery against ships.[4] There were 34 recorded incidents of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Singapore Strait in 2020,[5] 49 in 2021,[6] and 55 in 2022;[1] indicating a trend of increasing incidents. This trend goes against the global figures of piracy and armed robbery incidents, which are at their lowest level since 1994.[7]