News Story: Japan, UN group to work to combat pirates in Philippines

VIENNA -- Japan is set to join hands with a U.N. organization in combatting pirates belonging to an Islamic extremist group in the Philippines, it has been learned.

The Islamic extremist group Abu Sayyaf, which is apparently loyal to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, has attacked numerous commercial vessels off the Philippines. As part of its efforts to step up countermeasures against terror in Asia, Tokyo will support maritime police forces in the Philippines and other countries to prevent extremist groups from expanding.

The latest move is part of an action plan on anti-pirate measures that Japan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) signed in Vienna on Aug. 28.

Read the full story at The Mainichi

Think Tank: Mindanao - a new hub for Islamic State?

Peter Chalk

In May 2017, a band of militants connected to the Maute group (MG) attacked and laid siege to the city of Marawi in the southern Philippines after security forces attempted to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, the leader of one of two factions of the Abu Sayyaf group (ASG). The assault and subsequent occupation, which took several weeks to end, has once again raised national, regional and international concern that Mindanao and its surrounding islands are rapidly emerging as a beachhead of religious violence.

A particular fear is that the so-called Islamic State (IS) will seek to ‘hijack’ this wider region in order to establish a new province or wilayah from which to launch attacks across the country and throughout Southeast Asia. However, it’s too early to conclude that the southern Philippines is devolving into a centre for transnational jihadist fanaticism or, indeed, that IS is even looking to operate from that part of the country.

Islamist extremism in the southern Philippines revolves around three principal clusters. The first is the ASG, which is primarily based in Basilan and Sulu and which for the past few years has been actively trying to find a new religious identity to define its struggle in Mindanao. In 2014, a dozen ASG cadres uploaded a video on YouTube in which they read out an Arabic statement that pledged ‘loyalty and obedience’ to IS—a bayat that Hapilon reiterated in 2016.

News Story: 3 Abus, trooper killed in Sulu clash

By Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – At least three Abu Sayyaf militants and a trooper were killed while 15 soldiers were wounded in a firefight between bandits and government troops yesterday morning in Patikul town, Sulu, the military said.

The encounter erupted when troops zeroed in on the location of the Abu Sayyaf group after getting a tip from two kidnapped Filipino fishermen rescued on Friday.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Force Sulu (JTFS), said troops from the 21st Infantry Battalion led by Maj. Christopher Genzola engaged heavily armed Abu Sayyaf gunmen under the command of Almujer Yaddah in a one-hour firefight at Sitio Darayan at the boundary of Barangays Danag and Buhanginan around 8:45 a.m. yesterday.

During the clearing operations, troops recovered the body of an unidentified Abu bandit at the encounter site, Sobejana said.

 “Our forces on the ground also spotted the bandits dragging away two bodies of their companions who appeared to be dead,” he said.

The killed soldier and wounded were brought to the military hospital in Jolo.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Philippines, Indonesia to conduct annual joint patrol to thwart pirates - official

MANILA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Naval forces of the Philippines and Indonesia will conduct an annual joint patrol in the Celebes Sea next week to thwart piracy and sea robbery in the backwaters bordering the two Southeast Asian countries, a military spokesman said on Sunday.

"The coordinated patrol is intended to strengthen the security of the Davao Gulf and the common boundary of the two countries in the southern part of the Philippine archipelago along the Celebes Sea," Ezra Balagtey of the Eastern Mindanao Command said in a statement.

Balagtey said the joint patrol will kick off on July 6 at the Sasa Wharf in Davao City, the home city of President Rodrigo Duterte in the southern Philippines.

Balagtey said Indonesian military participants are scheduled to arrive in Davao City on Monday in time for the July 4 "military ceremony" at the Philippine Naval Station Felix Apolinario in Panacan, Davao City.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: BIMP must fight Sayyaf – Duterte

By Edith Regalado and Pia Lee-Brago

DAVAO CITY , Philippines  – President Duterte has sought the help of the leaders of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia to confront the threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf, which has been victimizing both foreigners and Filipinos.

The President issued the call during the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia and the Philippines (BIMP)-East ASEAN Growth Area leaders’ meeting, held on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit last Saturday.

“We have to do something about this now and I need your help,” Duterte told Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Indonesian President Joko Widodo during the meeting.

The three were among those who attended the ASEAN Leaders’ Summit in Manila.

Duterte likewise told the three to let their naval officials and other authorities go after suspected Abu Sayyaf members, even if they are already in the Philippine territorial waters in a pursuit operation.

The three reportedly agreed to the President’s request and that they have vowed to come up with measures on how to go after the Abu Sayyaf.

The notorious group of bandits has been responsible for a series of abductions whose victims mostly had ended up beheaded.

The Abu Sayyaf bandits are also known to consider Sulu as their lair, although they have lately been reported to have also gone to the resort island of Bohol.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: U.S. vice president discusses Korean Peninsula with Australian PM

SYDNEY, April 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday, as U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson steamed toward the Korean Peninsula.

"The (U.S.) president wanted me to be here early in this administration to reaffirm the strong and historic alliance between the United States of America and Australia," Pence told Turnbull.

Pence thanked Turnbull for his support on the highly contentious situation on the Korean Peninsula.

"While all options are on the table, let me assure you the United States will continue to work closely with Australia, our other allies in the region and China" to bring pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Pence said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: U.S. VP says aircraft carrier Carl Vinson steams toward Sea of Japan

SYDNEY, April 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said here on Saturday that an aircraft carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson was steaming toward the Sea of Japan.

"Our expectation is that they will be in the Sea of Japan in position in a matter of days, before the end of this month," he told a joint press conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

USS Carl Vinson has continued to steam toward the Korean Peninsula, after confusion from the Trump administration earlier this week as to the location of the aircraft carrier.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Report: F-18 Jet From USS Carl Vinson Heading to N Korea Crashes Near Philippines

A US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet Fighter (File Photo)

According to the US Navy, a F/A-18E jet based on the US Carl Vinson aircraft carrier crashed near the Philippines.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — A pilot flying an F/A-18E combat aircraft ejected safely from his cockpit on landing approach to the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson and was recovered unharmed by a helicopter rescue crew, the US Navy said in a press release on Friday.

"A pilot safely ejected and was quickly recovered by a helicopter assigned to [helicopter squadron] HSC-4 aboard USS Carl Vinson while conducting routine flight operations during a transit in the Celebes Sea," the release explained.

The incident took place in the Celebes Sea in the western Pacific. The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia border the body of water. The distance from the Celebes Sea to the South Korean port of Busan is about 2300 miles.

News Story: Indonesia ratifies EEZ agreement with Philippines

Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian House of Representatives of Indonesia has ratified a historic maritime agreement pertaining to an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) with the Philippines to safeguard the two countries’ maritime security from threats such as the Abu Sayyaf group.

In a hearing on April 18 with representatives of the Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Ministry, the Law and Human Rights Ministry, the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Indonesian Navy, lawmakers of the House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs agreed to ratify the maritime deal.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Palace condemns killing of Abu Sayyaf hostage

By Kristian Javier 

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 3:16 p.m.)  — Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Monday condemned the Abu Sayyaf's "senseless and cold-blooded" killing of abducted sailor Noel Besconde.

"We strongly condemn this senseless and cold-blooded murder committed during the Holy Week," Abella said in a statement on Monday.

Brig. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, chief of Joint Task Force Sulu, said on Sunday that Besconde, one of the crew members of F/B Ramona 2 that the terrorist group captured in the Celebes Sea in December, was killed in Patikul, Sulu on April 13.

Sobejana said that they received information on the same day but did not confirm it until the AFP secured a copy of the video of the execution.

Sobejana said that they are now doing their best to locate Besconde's body and bring it back to the family.

Abella expressed condolences to Besconde's family and said that local authorities and security forces are "exhausting all means" to find his body.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Measures rolled out to assist Vietnamese citizens on attacked ship

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnamese authorities are working hard to verify information related to a pirate attack on a Vietnamese vessel in the Philippines’ waters that killed one, thus applying measures to protect Vietnamese citizens, stated a representative from the Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department on February 20.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed Vietnamese representative offices in the Philippines, Malaysia and neighbouring countries to work with local authorities to promptly clarify the case.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Report: Pirates Attack Again in Philippines, Killing One and Kidnapping Seven

Pirates in southern Philippines waters killed one crew member and abducted seven more when they attacked the Vietnamese-flagged MV Giang Hai near Baguan Island in the Sulu Sea.

Seventeen of the 25-person crew were rescued by the Philippines Coast Guard, which then pursued the attackers, Reuters reports. Those abducted were Indonesian, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Dutch, German and Japanese nationals.

Baguan Island is in the island province of Tawi-Tawi, near the stronghold of the small but violent Abu Sayyaf militant group, which is known for piracy and kidnapping, as well as murdering its captives if ransom demands are not met. Abu Sayyaf is thought to have been holding 27 hostages before the most recent attack.

The southern Philippines is becoming known for such attacks, and maritime officials have warned that the area is in danger of becoming a "Somalia-type" zone if lawlessness in its waters cannot be curbed.

News Story: Indonesia in talks to buy Chinese maritime radar system

Indonesia is currently holding talks with China to purchase a version of the Chinese maritime radar system SLR-66 for monitoring foreign vessels in the Strait of Malacca, Celebes Sea and Torres Strait, according to the London-based Jane's Defence Weekly on Sep. 24.

Purnomo Yusgiantoro, minister of defense, said Indonesia is assessing the capabilities of the SLR-66 over-the-horizon radar and its potential for compatibility with existing Indonesian Navy assets.

Read the full story at Want China Times