Piracy, Maritime Terrorism and Securing the Malacca Straits

10. The Rhine Navigation Regime: A Model for the Straits of Malacca?

190 Ahmad Ghazali Bin Abu Hassan 10 The Rhine Navigation Regime: A Model for the Straits of Malacca? Ahmad Ghazali Bin Abu Hassan Introduction To a landlocked state, the issue of its accessibility to the sea can be as crucial as the right of innocent passage over the territorial water of other countries. Both kinds of issues can become a potential source of conflict if they are not handled carefully and judiciously with the other neighbouring or riparian states involved in such matters. As a close example, Iran and Iraq have actually gone to war over a dispute since 1935 over the navigation rights of the Shatt el Arab waterway that constitutes part of the Iraq-Iran border river and formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, flowing southeast towards the Persian Gulf. Full-scale war between the two countries broke out in September 1980, leading to nearly a decade of attacks upon coastal areas by both sides.1 Typical of a landlocked state, the economic sanctions imposed upon Iraq during the Saddam regime prior to the American-led invasion of 2003 were quite effective because Iraq’s access to the sea (and therefore world trade) is highly dependent upon its access of passage through Khor Abdullah waterway to the port of Basrah and the Shatt el Arab to the port of Umm Qasr which it shares with two other neighbours. 10 PMaritime Terrorism Ch 10 9/28/06, 2:25 PM 190 The Rhine Navigation Regime 191 The tendency of countries to jealously guard their rights over such rivers is therefore understandable given the potential importance that the rivers hold both in terms of source of water supply and means of accessibility to the sea. In this respect, the example set by the riparian states of the Rhine can be regarded as unique and worth emulating considering the fact that these countries on the basis of common interest, were willing to regard the Rhine as a river for international navigation, and to come together with a unique arrangement that facilitates efficient and effective management of the river in terms of navigational, environmental and other related aspects. This chapter aims to look at the possibility of the navigation and management regimes that regulate the usage of the Rhine as possible models to be modified and applied for the Straits of Malacca. The Rhine River The Rhine flows through one of the most densely populated and industrialized part of Europe and has been an important and busy transport artery ever since the Roman era and the Middle Ages. The name was derived from the Celtic word renos which means “raging flow” reflecting the magnitude and the strength of the current at its source: The Rheinwaldon Glacier at the Swiss Alps. The Rhine flows northeast for approximately 1,320 kilometres, passing through or bordering on six different countries (Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Germany, France, and the Netherlands) before entering the North Sea. The navigable part of the Rhine runs for a distance of about 800 kilometres from Basel in Switzerland. However large ocean-going vessels can only travel up to Cologne in Germany before the cargoes are transferred into smaller ships or barges to be taken to their destinations to the various ports up river in France, Germany and Switzerland. For this purpose some 8,000 units of special vessels of varying purpose and capacity are employed.2 By virtue of various countries that it passes through, the Rhine has four names, “Rhein” in Germany, “Rhine” in France, “Rijn” in the Netherlands and the ancient name of “Rhenus”. Its main tributaries are the Aare, Neckar, Main, Lahn, Ill, Mosel, Ruhr and the Lippe. Other principle rivers of Europe such as the Seine, Elbe, Ems, Rhône and the Saône are linked to it by canals. An important canal link to the Danube was completed in 1992, opening up shipping movement between the North Sea and the Black Sea passing through the Main River.3 10 PMaritime Terrorism Ch 10 9/28/06, 2:25 PM 191 192 Ahmad Ghazali Bin Abu Hassan The Rhine is generally navigable throughout the year due to the availability of technologically sophisticated electronic navigational charts and information services and surveillance systems for transportation safety. It is regarded as the backbone of inland waterway transport of Europe facilitating the transportation of heavy loads such as coal, iron ore, grain, potash, petroleum, iron and...