After a sharp drop in the number of sea robberies in the region the last few years, incidents of pirate attacks have spiked again of late. There’re 31 pirate attacks in 2019 alone – the highest in the last four years. And at least 13 of such attacks have been recorded since the beginning of this year, targetting commercial and fishing vessels plying the narrow and congested Malacca and the Singapore Straits. What has led to the resurgence of pirate these attacks in this region? Is it the result of economic hardship or the lack of political will? And with the COVID-19 outbreak taking its toll on the economies of this region, will these attacks take a sharp turn for the worse?
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