Freeman Report May 2009 Issue - vol. 7, no. 5

During much of the past two decades, the age-old crime of piracy has plagued the waters of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, especially the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Incidents of piracy in Southeast Asian waters have decreased dramatically since 2003, due likely both to improving economic conditions in the region and to joint action by Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, supported by Australia and Japan.