Pirates attack tanker

A Japanese tanker has been attacked by armed pirates off Indonesia as concern grows over a spate of incidents in a South China Sea shipping lane.

Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre, said the chemical tanker, travelling from Singapore to China, was targeted off Indonesia's Mangkai Island.

Choong said the IMB received reports of 10 attacks in the past 20 days.