BACKGROUND
(factual information is in regular font
and fictional aspects are in italics)
In November 2008, international news was flooded with reports of maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia. The attacks were reported in such a way that it appeared to be a novelty – an isolated and new threat. In fact, modern piracy is a major problem in commercial shipping lanes across the globe. My story is set along the Malacca Strait with the ultra-modern and multi-cultural Singapore (called the Manhattan of the east) situated only 12 miles across the Strait from the very poor and 99% Muslim nation of Indonesia.
There have been nearly 10,000 reports of piracy in the last decade but that number is misleading. When a ship reports a pirate attack, the ship is impounded and in addition to the lost time, the shipping company is responsible for port or anchorage fees. The total costs for a shipping company well exceeds $10,000. Since those fees are usually much more than the value of the stolen items, many pirate boardings are never reported. To make matters worse, successful prosecution is rare because the various coast guards do not have jurisdiction over the waters of the other nations on the shores of the Malacca Strait that is over 500 miles long and 100 miles wide at the northern mouth of the Strait.
Typically, pirate booty is limited ship's food stores, cash and personal property from crewmembers. Nonetheless, the indirect costs of piracy include increased costs for security measures, and spikes in insurance premiums for shipping. For instance, Lloyds of London once declared the strait a high war-risk area and added a premium of 1 percent of cargo value. Over 50,000 ships annually transit the narrow passage. Their cargo accounts for some 40% of the world's trade. Additionally, it has become the most important route of transport for oil from the Middle East to oil markets in East Asia.
INDONESIA:
Holland ruled Indonesia from 1700 until 1859 when Indonesia won its independence. However, even today, Dutch businesses have financial interests in the area mostly in the form of mineral rights to the enormous oil fields.
1. From the beginnings of Indonesia’s succession from Holland, the northern Aceh province has demanded succession from the Indonesian state. After many decades with no significant consideration from the Indonesian government, the Aceh Rebellion (AR) formed.
2. In 2004, a tsunami devastated the Aceh province. The Indonesian government stepped in immediately with thousands of dedicated rescuers and billions of dollars to help recover and treat victims and donate materials and labor to provide semi-permanent shelters and homes. Rather than lose face with the people of AR, it made political sense for the AR Rebels (AR) to agree to a peace treaty with the Indonesian government.
3. Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) is an actual domestic terror organization in Indonesia with thin ties to Al Qaeda but with different goals. Their ultimate goal is to create a Muslim super-state that would include Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.
4. There are indications that the Aceh Rebellion is resuming their pre-2004 activities. It is not known how the AR is funded, but it is plausible that JI is funneling financial support to the AR with the hope that they will join forces with JI when the time comes to carry out their plans to over-throw the Indonesian government. Since the Indonesian peasant can barely keep his own family fed and clothed, the question is “how or where” does JI get its funding?
My funding premise is this:
- They are responsible for and profit from the more sophisticated and high-value piracy.
- They provide ‘protection’ for the oil companies operating in the area. They have also begun selling promises of ‘exclusive’ oil rights to each oil company in the region if their overthrow of the Indonesia is successful. The oil companies think they are the only benefactors and smartly decide to cover all bets and buy those promises while still maintaining their lucrative relationships with the Indonesian government. The funds are laundered through a humanitarian organizations sponsored by fictional people. JI does not worry that the oil companies will learn that the promises are false because they would be indicting themselves if the subject was discussed.
- They also receive funding from an American Admiral who has gathered millions in the Afghanistan heroin trade. He used his position to recruit people and plan attacks that would benefit his needs; attacking families in the trade so that he becomes the leading drug lord without the knowledge of anyone in the military or diplomatic hierarchy. He will arrange for the transfer of all JI funds in the end. He makes token donations to JI so that when his girlfriend embezzles the billions of JI dollars, they won’t consider him as the thief.
6. The historic AR leader, Hassan Tiro was chased out of Indonesia in 1979 and took refuge in Sweden where he was safe from extradition. He continued to lead the AR rebellion even while living in Sweden. Eventually Sweden asked him to leave their country when his activities put the Swedish population in danger. At this time, his whereabouts are unknown but I think it is plausible that he has returned to the jungles of Indonesia, and has created an alliance with Jemaah Islamiyah. That is the premise of my plot.
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