ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that it is possible to establish joint cooperation zones involving foreign patrol vessels in order to enhance the security of sea lanes of communication and combat illegal activities. It examines the establishment of joint cooperation zones in areas outside the sovereignty of the coastal state such as in exclusive economic zones. States can establish maritime zones of cooperation to enhance maritime security in ocean spaces that are within the high seas and exclusive economic zone. The chapter also examines the question of whether it would be possible to establish a joint cooperation zone in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The Straits of Malacca and Singapore pose a particularly difficult problem with regard to maritime security because the southern half of the Malacca Strait and the entire Singapore Strait are within the territorial sea or archipelagic waters of the littoral states.
