ABSTRACT
Introduction Dr. Tony Tan, Singapore’s deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for security and defence, said the following at the 2004 Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies Maritime Security Conference held in Singapore on 20 May 2004: “Th e possible nexus between piracy and maritime terrorism is probably the greatest concern to maritime security. … What is more disturbing is the prospect that pirate attacks might be linked to terrorist organizations as they are conducted with increasing sophistication and precision.”1 He went on to give the example of the boarding of the Dewi Madrim in March 2003, when pirates who were well armed boarded the tanker. Instead of looking for valuable items onboard the vessel, the pirates took control of the helm of the vessel, steering the vessel for an hour in the Malacca Straits before they fl ed, with the vessel’s crew all tied up.
