--- title: Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia | TIME description: The world's most dangerous waters are those of Southeast Asia, and here's why canonical: https://time.com/video/QSp4Huos/ og:title: Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia og:description: The world's most dangerous waters are those of Southeast Asia, and here's why og:url: https://time.com/video/QSp4Huos/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QSp4Huos/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia twitter:description: The world's most dangerous waters are those of Southeast Asia, and here's why twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QSp4Huos/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia [Watch (HLS stream): Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QSp4Huos.m3u8) (2:04)  _Published 2014-09-09. The world's most dangerous waters are those of Southeast Asia, and here's why_ --- Jul 27, 2023 5:13 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Press Freedom Is Under Attack Across Southeast Asia. Meet the Journalists Fighting Back](/video/lGn09DGG/) ### Press Freedom Is Under Attack Across Southeast Asia. Meet the Journalists Fighting Back [Trump in Asia: How World Leaders Welcomed the President](/video/wMMPqnN2/) ### Trump in Asia: How World Leaders Welcomed the President [The History of the World's Population](/video/OP0AwDmj/) ### The History of the World's Population --- ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] Few tourists standing on the white sand beaches of Indonesia would think that these blue straits were the worlds most dangerous waters. Here, authorities are still struggling to address the world's oldest international crime. Piracy. While southeast Asia has seen a rise in attacks this year, piracy has long been a feature of the region. During the 19th century, pirates often raided Dutch and British ships as the two maritime powers sought to control the Far East. At that time, pirate gangs wielded pistols, daggers, and cutlasses, while scouring vessels for silk. Jewels, spices, brandy, money, and even people. Given the regions' innumerable islands and countless miles of coastline, the waters of Southeast Asia were too vast for even the largest navies to patrol. After World War II, places like Indonesia's Riau Islands were home to large pirate [ MUSIC ] Gangs. These criminal organizations offered fishermen and seafarers' a lucrative second profession. [ MUSIC ] By the mid 1990's South East Asian Pirates were brandishing assault rifles and machetes. While renewing piracy's reputation for violence. Between 1995 and 2013, 136 people were killed by pirates in Asia. More than twice the number killed by pirates in Africa. In the past, pirates flocked to the ancient spice routes, now, however, they are drawn to the modern booty of commerce. With China's growing economy, nearly one third of global trade and one quarter of the world's oil transits the turbulent waters of Southeast Asia [ MUSIC ] This year's pirate attacks alone have resulted in millions of dollars of lost oil. These illegal profits will only entice others to enter the piracy business. For Maritime security experts, this means the true impact of piracy lurks somewhere beyond the horizon. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Watch: A History of Piracy in Asia","description":"The world's most dangerous waters are those of Southeast Asia, and here's why","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/QSp4Huos/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-09-09T13:43:40.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/QSp4Huos.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/video/QSp4Huos/","duration":"PT2M4S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/video/QSp4Huos/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}} ```