Filipino doctor rescued after being kidnapped by gunmen

MANILA, March 25 (Xinhua) — Philippine security forces have rescued a Filipino doctor who was abducted by several gunmen of the extremist group Abu Sayyaf in remote Sulu province in the southern Philippines last month, a military general said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, said troops found the victim in a village near Indanan town in Sulu province around 7:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday after he was freed.

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Source: china.org.cn

Singapore Bans Crew Changes

The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) has extended its COVID-19 precautionary measures to include a ban on crew changes. The MPA also urges all crew members onboard to have their temperature taken twice daily.

With the application of the additional precautionary measures, crew and passengers on short-term visits will not be allowed to disembark in Singapore.

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Source: maritime-executive.com

2 suspects in abduction of teacher in Sulu arrested

By Nonoy Lacson

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Police and military authorities arrested, Saturday night two members of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) who were considered principal suspects in the kidnapping of a public elementary school teacher in this city last year.

Police Regional Office for Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9) Director Police Brig Gen Froilan F. Quidilla identified the alleged ASG members as Erma Sahibol, alias Emz, and Kimar Juram, alias Monica.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph

2 Filipinos arrested for smuggling gas off Sabah

Two Filipinos were arrested off Sabah last weekend after they were caught smuggling 980 liters of petrol worth around RM1,783, the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency said.

MMEA Lahad Datu director maritime commander Abdul Muhaimin Muhammad Salleh said the Filipinos were intercepted 0.3 nautical miles south of Kampung Kenali 8 p.m. March 14. He said MMEA personnel in a decoy boat intercepted the boat during a special operation in Felda Sahabat waters.

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Source: politics.com.ph

3 arrested for attempting to rob Liberian-flagged ship in Singapore Strait

SINGAPORE: Three people were arrested after they attempted to rob a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier in the Singapore Strait on Monday (Mar 16), said the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in a media release.

The Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore’s (MPA) Port Operations Control Centre received a report at around 5am that robbers had boarded the ship Sam Jaguar.

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Source: channelnewsasia.com

10 Abu Sayyaf bandits surrender in Sulu

Roel Pareño

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Ten Abu Sayyaf bandits have surrendered in Sulu.

Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. of the Joint Task Force Sulu and 11th Army Division said a group of bandits surrendered to the 1102nd Brigade under Col. Ignatius Patrimonio on March 6 and turned over their Garand rifles.

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Source: philstar.com

WesMinCom hosts Indonesia, Malaysia in trilateral security conference

By Bonita Ermac

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)-Western Mindanao Command (WesMinCom) hosted the Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines Trilateral Security Conference at the Garden Orchid Hotel here, Thursday, March 5.

Representatives from the AFP general headquarters, their Indonesian and Malaysian counterparts, and the top WesMinCom officers and its subordinate units joined in the activity.

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Source: news.mb.com.ph

No proof of life yet of abducted doc in Sulu

SULU: The Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) bloated in Zamboanga City is checking the veracity that the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) has demanded PHP5 million ransom in exchange for the release of the physician they seized in Jolo, Sulu.

Lt. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Westmincom chief, reiterated the government’s “no ransom policy” in addressing the abduction of Dr Daniel Moreno by the ASG bandits. ASG bandits took Moreno on February 4 from his clinic cum residence in Barangay Walled City, Jolo.

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Source: dailyexpress.com.my

Operation launched to nab ‘lookouts’ targetting potential kidnap victims in ESSzone

KUNAK: Sabah police have cast a dragnet to detain the remaining ‘lookouts’ working hand-in-glove with kidnap-for-ransom groups (KFRG) in the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSzone).

Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESScom) Commander Datuk Hazani Ghazali said ‘Ops Gasak’ was launched to address the threats identified and which frequently occur in the hot spot areas of ESSzone.

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Source: theborneopost.com

Maritime Security in the Asia-Pacific: Measuring Challenges and Progress

Only by seeking to measure maritime security dynamics in uniform and rigorous ways can we begin to understand the scope of the challenges and make progress.

By Jay Benson

In the realm of foreign and security policy, the maritime space is often overlooked. “Sea blindness” is real and it is often reflected in the amount of resources and policy attention paid to maritime security and governance around the world. However, as the maritime space gains attention as a theater for nontraditional security challenges and as space of increasingly important economic potential, so too does the need to empirically measure the scope of the challenges and the progress made in the maritime space. There are a plethora of indices, databases, and empirical reporting available on security and governance issues onshore, which contribute greatly to the understanding of policymakers on these phenomena, but the maritime space has yet to see the same application of empirical methods and analysis.

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Source: thediplomat.com