4 Indonesians seized off Tawi-Tawi
Gunmen have kidnapped four Indonesian sailors and shot and wounded one crewmember of a tugboat near the border of Malaysia in Tawi-Tawi late Friday.
The gunmen on a speedboat intercepted the TB Henry with its crew of 10 Indonesians off Pondo Sibugal in Sitangkai, an island town of Tawi-Tawi, Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman of Western Mindanao Command ( Westmincom), said yesterday.
Tan said one of the crew members was wounded when the gunmen fired on the tugboat.
He said about seven
gunmen took four crewmembers and transferred them into their speedboat, leaving six others, including the wounded.
The tugboat was carrying coal from Cebu to Tarakan in Indonesian Borneo when the kidnapping occurred.
Tan said the survivors proceeded to Sabah where they were assisted by Malaysian authorities in bringing the wounded victim to a hospital for treatment.
“The incident happened late Friday in international waters. Four Indonesian seamen were abducted by the kidnappers. One man was shot and is being treated at a hospital,” Sabah police chief Abdul Rashid Harun said.
No group has claimed responsibility but if the Abu Sayyaf is confirmed to be behind the kidnapping, it would be their third such hostage taking in as many weeks and comes amid a surge in such attacks.
A batch of 10 Indonesian tugboat crewmembers were also abducted last March 26 off East Kalimantan, Indonesia while en route to Manila.
The Indonesian tugboat TB
Brama was recovered days later off Languyan town in Tawi-Tawi with no sign of the victims.
On April 1, four Malaysian sailors were kidnapped from a ship near Sabah’s Ligitan island. It is still unconfirmed who was responsible.
Initial information indicated they may have been taken by the Abu Sayyaf in Sulu, a remote southern island that is a hideout of the militant outfit.
In a bid to curb kidnappings, Malaysia has imposed a temporary ban on the trade route between Sabah and the southern Philippines.
“The government has suspended barter trade between the two regions until a comprehensive plan is formulated to ensure the safety and security of Sabah state. It is a temporary ban,” marine police chief Abdul Rahim Abdullah said.
“We have deployed marine police boats along with ships from the maritime enforcement agency and the navy to enforce the ban,” he added.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) executive secretary Laisa Alamia said the trade blockade imposed by Malaysia has already taken a toll on traders in Tawi-Tawi, a traditional barter trading route in the southern backdoor of the country.
Tan added Westmincom chief Lt. Gen. Mayoralgo dela Cruz will be meeting with his Malaysian counterpart next week to discuss measures to address the spate of kidnappings occurring in the border.
Tan said possible joint patrol will be among the issues that will be taken up, although both countries have been engaged in annual joint border patrol exercises.
Noel Choong, head of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB)’s Kuala Lumpur-based Piracy Reporting Center, said the shipping community had expressed concern over the rise in attacks.
“Everyone is concerned as the attacks could hurt trade. Operating costs will go up if they were to use a longer but safer route,” he said.
“IMB fears such attacks will continue to escalate. How can seamen defend themselves against militants armed with high-powered guns and fast boats?” he added.
Many Western and other embassies routinely issue warnings against traveling to most of the Philippines’ Muslim-populated southern regions, which lie just northeast of Sabah, because of the risk of being abducted by the Abu Sayyaf.
In the past Abu Sayyaf has mainly targeted tourists as they can demand high ransom for foreigners.