Thailand Premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave his support for the "eyes in the sky" proposal during talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week.
The proposal was made by Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak at the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore.
FOUR-NATION joint aerial patrols over the Malacca Strait will begin on Tuesday as part of efforts to counter threats of piracy and terrorism in the vital waterway.
The "eyes in the sky" air patrols will be launched after the signing of an agreement in Subang, Malaysia, by the defence ministers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, said Indonesian Navy Colonel Surya Wiranto.
A spokesman from the Singapore's Defence Ministry confirmed that Singapore will, for a start, contribute two Fokker-50 patrols per week. The spokesman said the frequency of the patrols could be reviewed subsequently.
According to Indonesia, the other countries besides Singapore will each contribute two aircraft.
The three littoral states of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have already begun coordinated sea patrols of the waterway, but agreed last month to boost surveillance with joint air patrols.
The Malacca Strait 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 strait is vulnerable to pirate attacks and governments in the region also believe that it is a tempting target for terrorists.
Col Wiranto said the air surveillance scheme, originally proposed by Malaysia, would involve up to two maritime patrol aircraft from each nation that would operate seven days a week.
The aircraft, which must have one military officer from each participating nation on board, would be allowed to fly above the waters of the four nations no less than three nautical miles from land.
"If Indonesia is unable to send (a representative), then those airplanes will not be allowed to enter our territory. The principal of sovereignty will remain in place," said Col Wiranto, an operational assistant with the Indonesian navy's western fleet.
Speaking on the sidelines of a two-day meeting in Jakarta which ended yesterday on security issues in the strait, he said further details of the scheme were still being hammered out.
The meeting witnessed the signing of an agreement between Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore as well as the International Maritime Organization and various international shipping operators to place a radar surveillance system along the strait.
Thailand Premier Thaksin Shinawatra gave his support for the "eyes in the sky" proposal during talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week.
The proposal was made by Malaysian Defence Minister Najib Tun Razak at the Shangri La Dialogue held in Singapore.
