News Story: Philippine navy, air force conduct joint maritime drill to improve interoperability

MANILA, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Navy and Air Force have began a pilot maritime exercise to improve interoperability in monitoring internal security and territorial defense in western Mindanao, a military statement said on Thursday.

Rear Admiral Rene Medina, commander of the military's Naval Forces Western Mindanao, said the drill, dubbed Exercise Ayudahan 2017 which opened last Monday, is aimed at developing the soldiers' capability to conduct maritime patrols, surveillance and search and rescue operations in the Western Mindanao region.

"The interoperability exercise aims to develop interoperability and operational capabilities of the units in Western Mindanao area of operations and enhance the overall coordination and responsiveness in the conduct of joint maritime operations in support to internal security operations and territorial defense operations," Medina said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Malaysia foils attempted hijacking of Thai oil tanker

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Thai oil tanker and 14 crew members onboard were rescued near the northeast coast of Malaysia on Thursday, hours after they were hijacked by a group of pirates, said the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Thursday evening.

The ship, MT Tanker MGT1, carried around 2.2 million liters of diesel with an estimated value of 7 million ringgit (1.66 million U.S. dollars) when it disappeared from the Auto Identification System on Wednesday afternoon, said the MMEA in a statement.

With the help of an aircraft, a MMEA Special Task and Rescue Team managed to locate and successfully board the tanker and arrested 10 suspects onboard.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Indonesia backs establishment of joint special forces to battle IS

JAKARTA, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is ready to discuss a plan for setting up joint special forces to fight the Islamic State (IS) militants and pirates in the region, a government official said on Tuesday.

The plan, which is aimed at combating the IS militants in the borders of Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, was initiated by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

"Indonesia is ready at any time to guard this region," Indonesian Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Phl, Malaysia, Indonesia eye joint border counter-terror patrols

By Alexis Romero 

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are eyeing a joint task force against security threats and may open their borders to each other to chase terrorists and other armed groups, President Duterte said. 

Duterte said he would meet with Indonesia President Joko Widodo and Malaysia President Najib Razak to thresh out the details of the border cooperation deal. 

“We have agreed that we will talk… the three of us… We are just waiting for the right timing,” the President told journalists in Davao City Saturday night. 

“In all probability, it will be like a joint task force. And I will open my borders to the Malaysian authorities and Indonesian authorities, and… they’ll be given access.

“If we are chasing someone and there is no more time, we can hit him. Even if he’s a Filipino, we can tell them ‘hit him’ or Indonesian here, we can hit him,” he added. 

Duterte said the meeting may be held near the Philippine shore, in Sabah or in Jakarta. 

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia plan meet on international terrorism

By Alexis Romero

MANILA, Philippines — The leaders of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia may meet to discuss international terrorism, President Rodrigo Duterte said Wednesday, as Filipino troops plan their final assault against Islamic State-styled militants in Marawi City.

Duterte said he and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are still awaiting word from Malaysia President Najib Razak on the meeting.

“Widodo and I have yet to hear from Najib. He wants us, the three of us to meet somewhere to talk about this new phenomenon of international terrorism,” the president said during the oath-taking of newly-promoted police officials in Malacañang.

“It seems that we are back into the stages of the old world. Like pirates, of which they are really are… They kill and they just want to destroy,” he added.

Read the full story at PhilStar

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

News Story: Vietnam, Philippines need mechanism for antipiracy cooperation

Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam and the Philippines should develop a mechanism for anti-piracy cooperation in the future to ensure maritime security and safety, said Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army Senior Lieutenant General Pham Ngoc Minh.

Minh made the statement at a reception on August 16 for Commander of the Philippine Navy Vice Admiral Ronald Joseph S.Mercado who was on a visit to Vietnam to strengthen bilateral ties between Vietnam and the Philippines in defence and navy and discuss collaboration between the two navies.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

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.

Think Tank: Sea, air, land and space updates (11-Jul-2017)

Zoe Glasson, Sophie Qin, Madeleine Nyst and Patrick Kennedy

Sea state

The US Coast Guard is still looking for a vendor to equip its Legend-class national security cutter with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Lacking the expertise to operate UAVs itself, the Coast Guard wants the full package, ‘including the people, the antennas, [and] the software’. But to reduce costs, it’ll just be getting the basic capabilities for now—like electro-optical and infrared camera systems—with the more whizz-bang intelligence tools to come later, in pace with emerging technology. Eventually, the aim is to have a completely autonomous drone fleet. (But, according to The Drive, the Coast Guard might already have something pretty cool!)

A new report from the ICC International Maritime Bureau revealed the extent of international piracy in the first half of 2017. Overall, there were 87 attacks—10 fewer than in 2016. That included 63 hostage-takings, 41 kidnappings and two deaths. The report warns that Somali pirates still have the capacity to attack far offshore, and remain a threat to merchant ships. Southeast Asia was also identified as still being a high-risk area. The Diplomat provides a compelling argument for Australia’s interests in this area by looking at the threat to trade and economic prosperity should piracy spread to the Melanesian ‘arc of instability’.

News Story: Malaysia investigates attack on Thai tanker

Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) has formed a group to probe the pirate attack on a tanker carrying 3.8 million litres of diesel owned by a Thai company in waters off Kuantan, Malaysia on June 23.

In a statement on June 27, Zulkifili Abu Bakar, Director General of the MMEA said the agency had contacted the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre to investigate the case.

The MMEA has also worked with agencies of neighbouring countries, including Indonesia’s Tau Armada Command and the Singapore Police Coast Guard as the agency believes it is a cross border crime.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

News Story: Hijacked Thai oil tanker returns safely from Malaysia

BANGKOK, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Thai navy on Monday confirmed that a Thai oil tanker which was hijacked by a pirate vessel in Malaysian waters had returned to Thailand.

"The hijacked oil tanker C.P. 41 is safe now," said Thai Navy spokesman Admiral Jumpol Lumphikanont.

Jumpol said the oil tanker were sailing on the right route when it was attacked and Thai navy sent patrol boat HTMS Takbai there to save them after being informed.

C.P. 41, carrying 17 crew and some 3,800 tons of diesel oil, was attacked by six armed pirates, while en route from Singapore to Songkhla Friday night.

Read the full story at Xinhua

News Story: Malaysia offers help in Philippines fight vs terrorists

MANILA, Philippines - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has expressed full support for the Philippines following the terrorist attack in Marawi City that prompted President Duterte to declare martial law in the whole of Mindanao.

“Malaysia condemns the attack on Marawi City by groups linked to Daesh that led to casualties of government forces and displacement of civilians,” Razak tweeted on Thursday, using another name for the Islamic State.

“I have full confidence in the Philippines and will offer our full support,” he added.

He also stressed that the crisis must not derail the ongoing Mindanao peace process.

Malaysia has served as facilitator during the peace talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Razak came to the Philippines in 2014 when the peace agreement was signed between the negotiating panels in the presence of former president Benigno Aquino III.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Report: Indian Navy Rescues Liberian Ship From Pirates in Gulf of Aden

The Indian Navy thwarted a piracy attempt on Liberian flagship Lord Mountbatten in the Gulf of Aden on May 16.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India’s offshore patrol craft INS Sharda received a distress call from the Liberian ship on Tuesday evening in position 230 nautical miles South-West of Salalah in the Gulf of Aden. The Korean-built large patrol vessel INS Sharda was deployed for the anti-piracy role in the Gulf of Aden since April 6 this year.

“The vessel had reported an incident of attempted piracy by two suspicious mother vessels along with 7-8 skiffs. Sharda, which was at that time 30 nautical miles east of the reported position, immediately responded to the distress call and proceeded at best speed to investigate the incident,” said a statement of the Indian Navy.

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: Infamous Abu Sayyaf Leader Killed

By Noel Tarrazona

Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Alhabsy Misaya, also known as Abu Misaya, was reportedly killed in a military operation on Friday night in Parang town in the province of Sulu in the Philippines.

  

Three of the group’s most notorious pirate leaders have now been killed in April alone, as the nation’s military strives to meet the June 2017 deadline for eradicating the Abu Sayyaf set by its Commander-in-Chief, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

Misaya was known as the Abu Sayaf’s bomb expert. He was reportedly responsible for a series of bomb attacks as well as maritime piracy in the Philippines.

Reports of Misaya’s death coincide with the four-day ASEAN summit held in Manila where leaders expressed concerns on the growing maritime piracy and terrorism in the ASEAN region. Prior to the ASEAN summit, Duterte sent at least 10,000 highly trained soldiers to Basilan and Sulu to finish off the Abu Sayaf. 

The death of Misaya came barely three weeks after the death of another Abu Sayaf sub-leader Muamar Askali, also known as Abu Rami. He was killed in the Central Philippines after a fire-fight encounter with joint police and military forces in the province of Bohol. Rami and 10 fighters had sailed from Sulu to Bohol to target Western tourists for their kidnap for ransom activities. (Bohol is home to the Loboc River, which is frequented by Western tourists taking ferry cruises.)

The third Abu Sayaf sub-leader killed this month was Joselito Melloria, a Muslim convert and a native of Bohol. Four other fighters were also killed in that week-long military encounter in Bohol.

The group’s overall leader, Radullon Sahiron, is now the only top leader left, and with the continuous military pressure, he has reportedly sent out surrender feelers to the military.

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: Duterte Defends China at ASEAN Summit

By Noel Tarrazona

Despite international and local pressure for President Rodrigo Duterte to raise the Hague ruling on the South China Sea in the four-day ASEAN Summit in Manila, the 72-year-old Philippine leader instead defended China.

Speaking at the 30th annual Summit which ended on Saturday, he explained before the ASEAN press that there was no point discussing the U.N. ruling in the summit since the issue was only between the Philippines and China. 

This came to many surprise to ASEAN leaders because the Philippines had been hosting the previous administration’s Spratly’s Claimants Meeting in Manila to discuss measures to address China’s growing infrastructure in the disputed waters. Other ASEAN countries that claim ownership of the disputed waters are Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. 

Duterte said during a press briefing what was the purpose of discussing when you cannot do anything about it. 

However, Philippine senator Panfilo Lacson also told ASEAN media that the nation should not miss out on the opportunity provided by the ASEAN summit. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia security patrols to prevent terror attacks

By Jaime Laude

MANILA, Philippines - The enforcement of joint maritime security patrols among the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia will not only address the rising criminality being committed on their respective maritime boundaries but will also tighten, if not totally plug, the entry and exit of local and foreign terrorists into the three neighboring states, the Department of National Defense (DND) said.

Defense spokesman Arsenio Andolong issued this statement in welcoming the soon-to-be launched maritime security arrangement between three Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, in a bid to forestall terrorism and cross-border crimes with their respective maritime borders.

“It is a timely measure in response to the ever-evolving threat of terrorism not only in our countries but in the entire region, “ Andolong said.

In his meeting with President Duterte at Malacañang Friday, Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced the planned launching of joint maritime security patrols in line with both countries’ intensified security cooperation.

Widodo also said that for transnational crimes, it has been agreed upon that the 2014 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Counter-Terrorism Cooperation be expanded by creating a joint working group on counter-terrorism and strengthening intelligence information cooperation.

“This bodes well for the future of maritime security and safety in our common areas,” Andolong said.

Read the full story at PhilStar

News Story: Philippines foils seajacking plot in Sulu sea

Hanoi (VNA) – Navy boats and air force helicopters of the Philippines have foiled a seajacking attempt on a cargo vessel in Sulusea off the southern province of Zamboanga del Norte, the Philippine military reported on April 19.

On April 18, the cargo vessel with 21 crew members, which was in waters off Sioconen route from Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte to Zamboanga city, made a SOS call and reported that three motorised boats carrying armed men seemed to be attacking them and attempting to board their vessel.

The Western Mindanao Command said they immediately directed all naval ships patrolling the area to proceed to the last reported location, while two air force helicopters were also deployed to fly over the reported area.

Read the full story at VietnamPlus

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