Asian anti-piracy plan gets green light

Singapore (dpa) – An anti-piracy plan bringing together 16 Asian countries is set to take off on September 4 followed by the opening of an Information Sharing Centre (ISC) based in Singapore, the Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The Japanese-initiated Regional Cooperation Agreement on Anti- Piracy (Recaap) is aimed at enhancing multilateral cooperation among the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plus Japan, India, China, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Of the 16 countries, 11 have ratified the agreement. Among them are Malaysia and Indonesia, the two key Malacca littoral states. Both have stated their commitment to joining Recaap.