Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore vowed to secure the Malacca Straits but said they were opposed to shipowners hiring private armed escorts for protection in the vital sea lane, reports said today.

The countries' foreign ministers said it was their responsibility to ensure security in the Malacca and Singapore straits, the Indonesian state Antara news agency and the Malaysian Bernama news agency reported.

"We are against any private security companies giving security coverage to ships navigating through the straits," Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said after meeting his counterparts on Indonesia's Batam island.

The Malacca Straits is one of the world's most important waterways, with 50,000 ships carrying about one-third of the globe's trade passing through it each year.

However the straits, 960 kilometres long and 1.2 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, is notoriously vulnerable to pirate attacks and governments in the region also believe they are a tempting target for terrorists.

Brigadier General John Allen, a director for Asian and Pacific Affairs of the US Defense Department, said in Jakarta Wednesday that Washington was "very interested" in providing capacity-building to the three littoral states.

"It is in the interests of the region that we cooperate to the maximum extent we can," he told reporters.

Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said shippers should not be encouraged to take the law into their own hands but added, "we recognise that shipowners have the responsibility for self-defence."

News reports have said Singapore was playing host to private security firms that were allowed to provide armed guards on vessels in the country's waters. Singapore defence chief Ng Yat Chung on Tuesday however insisted there was no such agreement.

Strong signal

Indonesian Foreign Hassan Wirayuda said it was the responsibility of the three states along the Malacca Straits to ensure security.

"It's time for the three countries to give a signal to the world that we are seriously prepared to ensure security in the strait," he said, according to Antara.

Since the strait is a vital international sea lane, the three countries would also be open to international help, but not in the form of security forces, he said.

Wirayuda said foreign assistance could include training and the transfer of technology.

In a statement after their meeting ended Tuesday, the ministers said the three countries must rid the straits of piracy, terrorism and human trafficking.

Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore already have a security cooperation scheme under which their navies conduct regular patrols in the Malacca Straits in close coordination with each other.

Malaysia has proposed the introduction of air surveillance to complement the sea patrols.

"The coordinated patrols is a good start but we have got to build on it. The 'eye in the sky' proposal will greatly augment our coordinated patrols," Yeo said.