Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines join in anti-Islamist pirate scheme
Time：2016-06-24
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So far this year nearly 20 Indonesian and Malaysian tugboat crew have been kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf militants. Alarmed at the frequency of attacks, port authorities in some parts of Indonesia, particularly Kalimantan on the island of Borneo, have stopped issuing permits to ships taking coal to the southern Philippines, reported Reuters.
"The ministers have agreed in principle to explore the following measures, including a transit corridor within the maritime areas of common concern, which will serve as designated sea lanes for mariners," the defence ministers of the three nations said in a joint statement after a meeting in Manila.
The three Southeast Asian nations also agreed to step up air and sea patrols and escorts for commercial ships in the common maritime areas to prevent hijackings, kidnappings and robberies.
Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the leaders agreed to share the best practices evolved by Indonesia and Malaysia during a joint effort to patrol the busy Malacca Strait waterway against pirates, as a model for three-way cooperation with the Philippines.
It was the second meeting of officials from the three countries to tackle growing regional security challenges, after their foreign ministers met in Jakarta last month.
According to analysts, cargo worth a total of US$40 billion passes through the Sulu and Celebes seas each year, including supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait.