Kuala Lumpur, Feb 27, SPA -- The United States is ready to help Malaysia boost security in the vital Malacca Strait once it concludes a pact on joint air patrols with other littoral states, a U.S. defense commander said on Monday. Separately, Malaysia's defense chief said Japan, a major user of the busy sea lane, would provide a ship next month to Malaysia's coast guard to help patrol the strait, which carries roughly a quarter of global trade. Admiral William Fallon, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said the United States was also looking to provide defense equipment to Indonesia following the resumption of military ties with Jakarta. Similar help is also on the cards for Malaysia, which along with Indonesia and Singapore, is one of the three states bordering the Malacca Strait, Reuters reported. "We are waiting for certain things to occur," said Fallon, whose command covers more than half the globe and includes 300,000 military personnel. Malaysia's armed forces chief, Admiral Anwar Mohamad Nor, said Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore would sign a pact in Indonesia's Batam Island next month on standard operating procedure on joint air patrols. "We are hopeful that once this agreement is formalized, then we will have better understanding of what we might do. So, we are standing by to help," Fallon, on a tour of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei, told reporters in the Malaysian capital. --SPA 11 38 Local Time 08 38 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/334958