Piracy surge could turn Southeast Asian waters into ‘new Somalia’, Indonesia warns

Indonesia fears piracy on a busy shipping route along its maritime border with the Philippines could hit levels seen in Somalia unless security is tightened, the chief security minister said on Thursday, following a spate of kidnappings.

The waters form part of major shipping arteries that carry US$40 billion worth of cargo a year, analysts say, and the corridor is used by fully laden supertankers from the Indian Ocean that cannot use the crowded Malacca Strait waterway.

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A total of 18 Indonesians and Malaysians have been taken captive in three separate attacks on tugboats in Philippine waters along the route, by groups suspected of ties to the al-Qaeda linked Abu Sayyaf militant network in the Philippines.

Abu Sayyaf, a group known for kidnappings, beheadings, bombings and extortion, has demanded 50 million pesos (US$1.1 million) to free the Indonesian crew.

“We don’t want to see this become a new Somalia,” Indonesian chief security minister Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters, referring to the southern Philippine waters of the Sulu Sea, where the abductions took place.

Piracy near Somalia’s coast has largely subsided in the past few years, mainly due to shipping firms hiring private security details and the presence of international warships.