JAKARTA, Oct. 10 -- The Indonesian Navy has said the construction of nine radars in Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest waterways, would be completed this year.

       "Four of the planned nine radars are now ready for operation and we hope to finish the remaining by the year-end," Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Slamet Soebijanto was quoted Wednesday by English daily The Jakarta Post as saying.

       He said the construction of two of the four radars had been funded by the state budget, while the other two had been financed with assistance from the United States.

       Three littoral states along the 500 miles of the Malacca Straits -- Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia -- have stepped up efforts to ensure security through joint patrol along the Malacca Strait.

       The states have also installed long-range cameras and radars for locating objects in the waterway.

       The Navy chief said the Indonesian government had also planned to set up radars at coastlines in the Makassar Strait due to the increasing number of foreign ships passing through the waterway, which is situated between Kalimantan and Sulawesi.