We cover piracy, armed robbery at sea, IUU fishing, maritime cyber security and maritime security issues.
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — The new leadership of the military’s Western Mindanao Command will rest the weight of its campaign in Sulu, considered among the remaining problem areas in Mindanao, its outgoing commander Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega said.
Dela Vega, who opted for early retirement from the service, will be replaced by Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana in a change of command ceremony on Friday.
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Source: philstar.com
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Abu Sayyaf gunmen released nine hostages after finding that they were Bajau fishermen who had no money to pay for their ransom, Malaysian and Philippine officials said on Saturday.
The military said the nine men were found walking along a road in Talipao, Sulu, on Friday, three days after they were abducted in waters off Lahad Datu in Borneo on June 18.
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Source: globalnation.inquirer.net
Reports coming from Sabah suggest that Abu Sayyaf Group terrorists have kidnapped 10 crew from two fishing boats early on Tuesday 18th.
Media reports state that the incidents near Borneo Island, when two speedboats approached two fishing vessels. “Pirates” boarded the boats at around 2am LT, confiscated documents likely to relate to the nationality of the crew members, and then took 10 hostages before fleeing towards Sitangkai Island in the Philippines. The fishing boats were believed to be operating during curfew hours without a permit, according to a report in The Straits Times. The remaining crew were picked up by the MMEA.
The incident comes after a prolonged lull in kidnapping activities by the group. However, the loss of hostages in recent rescues and killings would suggest that the group is now looking to increase its funds by further Kidnap For Ransom efforts.
The incident prompted Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal to call for further security measures in Sabah, an area which has seen cross border criminality and kidnapping at sea in recent years.
By Teofilo Garcia, Jr.
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Police arrested Wednesday three members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in this southern port city.
The Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) identified the arrested ASG members as Jamik Ibrahim, Majuk Amil, and Hasim Aming. Ibrahim and Amil were arrested in Barangay Arena Blanco, while Aming in Magay, Barangay Zone 1.
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By Teofilo Garcia, Jr
ZAMBOANGA CITY — Government troops recovered an arms cache belonging to Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits in an island off Sulu province, a top military official said Wednesday.
Major Gen. Divino Rey Pabayo, Joint Task Force Sulu commander, said the arms cache was discovered in Minis Island, Patikul, Sulu at about 7:45 a.m. Monday.
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By Janene Pieters
Ewold Horn‘s death in the Philippines can be blamed on the Dutch government, according to Warren Rodwell from Australia, a former hostage of terrorist movement Abu Sayyaf. The fact that the 54-year-old Dutch man was still a hostage of Abu Sayyaf after seven years shows that the Dutch government did not put enough effort into getting him released, Rodwell said to Dagblad van het Noorden.
Horn was abducted by members of Abu Sayyaf during a bird watching trip on the Philippine islands in 2012. He was shot dead on Friday when he tried to escape during a firefight between the terrorist group and Philippine government forces.
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Source: nltimes.nl
MANILA (Reuters) – A Dutch photographer held hostage by Islamic State-linked militants in the Philippines since 2012 was killed on Friday by his captors when he tried to escape during a firefight on a remote southern island, the military said.
Ewold Horn, a wildlife photographer, was shot by his guards from the Abu Sayyaf group when he tried to flee during a clash between government troops and the militants, said Brigadier General Divino Rey Pabayo, commander of a Joint Task Force on Sulu island.
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Source: reuters.com
Maritime Security News: You may recall that only ten days ago, a Philippine National Police commander had claimed that Horn had joined the group. More here:
https://maritimesecurity.news.blog/2019/05/21/dutch-hostage-joins-abu-sayyaf/
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah’s dusk-to-dawn sea curfew will be extended for another two weeks until June 10, says Police Commissioner Datuk Omar Mammah.
He said the extension of the 6pm to 6am curfew was needed due to continuous threats from cross-border criminals, including from kidnap-for-ransom groups.
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Source: thestar.com.my
By Meghan Curran
On the morning of January 27, 2019, two bombs exploded inside the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Jolo on the Sulu Province in the southern Philippines. Tearing a hole through the cathedral during a Sunday service, the bombs claimed 20 lives, injured dozens more, and propelled Islamist extremism in the Philippines back into international headlines. In the aftermath of the blast, Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte promised to “pursue to the ends of the Earth the ruthless perpetrators behind [the] dastardly crime,”as the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), the country’s notoriously violent Islamic separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. While President Duterte may not need to go to the “ends of the Earth” to put an end to the ASG-fueled terror, his government will certainly need to act beyond its own shores. Illicit maritime activities are at the root of ASG funding and operations, and ensuring the group’s defeat will require focused government efforts to improve maritime security in its area of operations.
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Source: cimsec.org
SULU: Philippine National Police (PNP) Sulu Provincial Commander Pablo Labra reported Saturday that a Dutch hostage abducted by the Abu Sayyaf militants seven years has joined the terrorist group.
Identified as 57-year old Ewold Horn, Labra said the kidnap victim turned outlaw together with Swiss national Lorenzo Vinciguerra were adopted by Abu Sayyaf militants and suspected MNLF members in Tawi-Tawi in 2012.
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Source:dailyexpress.com.my
Maritime Security News 