Indonesia says captain abducted near south Philippines

By Ainur Rohmah

TUBAN, Indonesia (AA) – Indonesia confirmed Sunday that a fishing vessel’s captain has become its latest citizen to be abducted in waters near the troubled southern Philippines.

The foreign ministry's director of citizens and legal entities was quoted by detik.com as saying the ministry confirmed the incident, “in which the Indonesian captain of a Malaysian-flagged fishing vessel" was kidnapped off the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah.

In the past four months, more than 20 Indonesian and Malaysian sailors have been kidnapped in the Celebes and Sulu seas, many of whom remain captive by Abu Sayyaf militants in the Philippines' south.

Lalu Muhammad Iqbal said the foreign ministry had been aware Thursday of Wednesday’s abduction, but did not inform media amid efforts to verify contradictory information.

Kompas.com reported that the captain, Herman bin Manggak, was seized along with two Malaysian and Indonesian crew members who were later released.

Iqbal said the ministry sent a team to Sabah to gather more in-depth information.

"Our team has been in Sabah since 5 [August]," Iqbal told Kompas.com.

"There is not yet clear -- but contradictory -- information between the relevant parties. So we are still verifying," he added.

No details were provided on which group had been responsibility and whether they had demanded ransom.

Earlier this week, Indonesian envoy Johny Josephus Lumintang told Philippine media that he had been dispatched to the southern island province of Sulu to seek the release of 11 Indonesian hostages being held captive by the Daesh-affiliated Abu Sayyaf.

On Tuesday, the defense ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines gathered for a trilateral meeting in Indonesia that resulted in six agreements aimed at combatting piracy in the region’s seas.

They agreed to implement "emergency assistance" to enable each country to assist the other during disturbances that harm citizens' security, and to conduct joint military patrols in the waters and hold joint exercises.

Kidnap-for-ransom gangs operating in the Sulu and Celebes seas are known to hand over their captives to the Abu Sayyaf and negotiate for a ransom that, if paid, is shared with the group.

Since 1991, the Abu Sayyaf group -- armed with mostly improvised explosive devices, mortars and automatic rifles -- has carried out bombings, kidnappings, assassinations and extortions in a self-determined fight for an independent province in the Philippines.

It is notorious for beheading victims after ransoms have failed to be paid for their release.

The Abu Sayyaf is among two militant groups in the Philippines south who have pledged allegiance to Daesh, prompting fears during the stalling of a peace process that Daesh could make inroads in a region torn by decades of armed conflict.