Background:
Southeast Asia, as we know from our lectures, is a geographical anomoly in many ways. At a global scale it's the gateway to the Indian ocean. Not only does it connect Europe and Africa to East Asia, but it connects the USA to places like India and even the Middle East. At a regional scale, it's split into mainland and insular Southeast Asia, and within these sub-regions there is even more fragmentation. The epidome of this fragmentation is the archipelagic country of Indonesia with more than 17,000 islands (see figure below).
Indonesia is mostly a poor country - only a small percentage of the population controls its wealth. This is not a discussion about why Indonesia is poor although we could debate that for hours and hours - geography may even play some part. Instead, this is a blog about how some intrepid Indonesians make a living - as modern day pirates. In light of recent pirate attacks around the world (most of them off the coast of Somalia), NPR did a series about modern day pirates and I found this podcast particularly interesting given my current work in World Regional Geography class.
To understand why there is piracy in Indonesia, one must start with a map. As was mentioned before, Southeast Asia is the gateway from East Asia in to the Indian Ocean. With no canal across skinny Southern Thailand, ships headed into the Indian Ocean need to dip south of the Malay Peninsula and then back north through the funnel-like Strait of Malacca. For many reasons, this is a very busy area for shipping traffic, and boats with very valuable cargo pass through this area all the time. That alone, however, is not a recipe for disaster. What does lead to trouble is the fact that there are so many disadvantaged people so close by. What would you do if you could make $5000 in a day which might be able to last you for a year? Piracy in Indonesia takes place because of geography coming head to head with sociology and economics.
The podcast and my reaction:
In short, this podcast highlights how piracy is on the decline in this part of the world because of increased maritime security. It's a combined effort between the Malaysians, Singaporeans, and Indonesians, all of which have economic reasons for not letting cargo ships get hijacked by pirates. The podcast mentions that even the US government is giving funds to help the Indonesians purchase faster boats for increased and more efficient patrolling. What I found very interesting though, was an interview with a former pirate - a young man from the Riau Archipelago of Indonesia, just south of Singapore. I've heard from people that have been to some of the islands in that area that some of the towns are like the wild west - and that pirates are the big men in town. It seems that this source from NPR is confirming that, with the interviewed ex-pirate talking about how pirates would earn their loot and then blow it in a few big nights on the town. Interesting to see how the traditional stereotype of historical pirates (grog and maidens) is replayed even in today's world, albeit in a slightly different setting.
For me, Indonesia is the country I'm most fascinated in. It seems that the unit on Southeast Asia is dominated by this massive and populous country. It's physical location has had a determining influence on its history, and it's archipelagic shape continues to shape it in new ways - not all of them for the better. I hope to learn more about Indonesia in the future and look forward to comparing it to other countries in other regions of the world.
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