Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines Cooperate on South China Sea Patrol

by Ship & Bunker News Team
Friday May 6, 2016

In an effort to battle piracy and armed robbery incidents, including those targeted at tankers and bunker thefts, foreign ministers and chiefs of the armed forces from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Philippines Thursday, at a meeting in Yogyakarta, agreed to participate in joint patrols the regions' surrounding waters, local media reports.

Although they have declined in recent months, a rising number of bunker related incidents last year was a cause of increasing concern for both operators and authorities.

In addition to joint patrols, the countries also intend to establish crisis centres within their countries, as well as a connected hotline to ensure timely communication and response during emergency situations.

The three countries say that the joint agreement is intended to recognise "the growing security challenges, such as those arising from armed robbery against ships, kidnapping, transnational crimes, and terrorism in the region, particularly in reference to the maritime areas of common concern."

Officials at the meeting are also reported to have discussed operating procedures to set out how cooperation in emergency situations will be put into action, and are drawing on experiences from information sharing and sea and aerial patrols in the Strait of Malacca.

Further meetings are set to be held to set out more detailed operating procedures for cooperation, reports say.

Last week, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said that, while global piracy and armed robbery against ships continues to fall, violence against vessels off the coast of West Africa is growing, with 44 seafarers kidnapped so far this year.